scholarly journals EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE TO TOBACCO ON MODULATION OF COLOR VISION

Author(s):  
Mariana Nunes Fabricio ◽  
Bruna Sthefanny Da Cunha Ferreira ◽  
Helena Beatriz Moura Martins ◽  
Ruan Carlos Silva de Jesus ◽  
Mauro César De Oliveira ◽  
...  

The chronic use of cigarettes causes toxic and oxidative effects on the visual system, which can cause changes in color vision. Although there are studies on the harmful effects of tobacco in active smokers, the literature on secondhand/passive smokers (or environmental tobacco smoke) is still scarce. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the ability of color vision in active and passive smokers. This is a cross-sectional observational study in which 103 individuals were divided pseudorandomly into 3 groups: control group (CG) n = 44 individuals (72 eyes), with a mean age of 28.65 ± 7.90; group of passive smokers (GPS) n = 28 (56 eyes), mean age 28.74 ± 9.42; group of active smokers (GAS) n = 31 (60 eyes), mean age 34.91 ± 11.30. The psychophysical evaluation of color vision was performed using the Ishihara pseudoisochromatic plates, the computer program of the Freiburg Visual Acuity & Contrast Test, version 3.7, and the desaturated Lanthony D15 ordering test. The results indicate that there was no correlation in GAS and GPS with age, time of exposure to tobacco and daily consumption. It was observed that both GAS and GPS showed changes in visual acuity (P <0.05), and only GPS showed changes in color vision (P <0.05); GFP showed a deficit in visual acuity and worse color vision when compared to GAS (P <0.05). These results are discussed in relation to the biochemical and pathophysiological effects that exposure to cigarettes may have on the visual system, which would explain the functional changes observed. We conclude that passive and active smokers have impaired color vision and that the psychophysical methods used in this study are effective for the subclinical tracking of changes in color vision.

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2S) ◽  
pp. 73-81
Author(s):  
A. G. Shchuko ◽  
D. Yu. Samsonov ◽  
S. I. Zhukova ◽  
T. N. Iureva ◽  
I. M. Mikhalevich ◽  
...  

The first histological and clinical description of the optic nerve drusens was given in the 19th century. Then authors considered drusens as congenital pathologies, and a study of 1999 showed that drusen is not the primary pathology, but the dysplasia of the optic nerve disk and its circulation predisposes to the formation of drusen. Central vision in patients with drusens of the optic nerve disc is reduced rarely, and their diagnosis is reduced to ascertaining of the fact of having drusen without taking into account the structural and functional changes in the visual system.Purpose of the work: to identify the pattern of changes in visual functions in children and adolescents with druses of the optic nerve disk, the development and addition of classification criteria.Patients and methods. 45 children with drusens were examined, a comprehensive analysis of the visual system included a standard ophthalmological examination, a comprehensive study of visual system with ultrasound scanning, OCT and OCTA, standard automated and pulsarperimetry.Based on the results of the cluster analysis, a graph of the distribution of patients into three groups (control group and two clinical groups) was constructed, and the structural and functional state of the visual system was analyzed. Drusens in children in the second group we marked as “peripheral”, and in the third — “central”. The carried out researches have shown, that the revealed disturbances are more expressed in the third clinical group. All this determines the need to complement the clinical classification of drusens and their separation depending on the location relative to the vessels of the optic nerve disk to the central and peripheral. The compression effect of drusen is accompanied with changes in the volume of the optic nerve disc, a violation of retinal hemodynamics, damage to the neuroglia and ganglion cells, which allows treating this pathology as a progressive neuroopticopathy, and the revealed dependence of changes on the localization of druses requires supplementing the existing classification. 


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 179-184
Author(s):  
Asieh Sadat Sedighi ◽  
◽  
Ali Mirzajani ◽  
Ebrahim Jafarzadehpur ◽  
Jamileh Abolghasemi ◽  
...  

Background and Objectives: The color vision evaluation of gas station workers in Isfahan City. Methods: This cross-sectional comparative study was performed on workers at gas stations in Isfahan; all the workers were men. The participants were divided into two 40-people groups of exposure and non-exposure (the members of the fuel sales department). The participants had better vision than 8/10 and no underlying problems or eye disease. Besides, examination, including color vision was performed for all subjects. Color vision was assessed using the D15 test under high to medium light conditions. Also, the color vision test was performed monocularly. Then, the obtained data were analyzed using SPSS V. 22. Results: The two study groups significantly differed in terms of color vision impairment index (P <0.001). Also, more color vision defects were seen in the group exposed to gasoline. The color confusion index (as the indicator of color vision defects) were 1.485 and 1.129 in exposure and non-exposure to gasoline groups, respectively. Thus, color vision defects were significantly higher in the exposure to gasoline group, compared with the control group. Conclusion: The results of this study showed a difference in color vision index between the two groups. Therefore, long-term exposure to organic solvents, such as gasoline in fuel stations may cause color vision loss.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
José de Paula Barbosa Neto ◽  
Luiz Eduardo Fernandes Lima ◽  
Matheus Carvalho Vasconcelos ◽  
Luis Eduardo Reis Amaral ◽  
Lise Queiroz Lima Verde ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the presence of depressive symptoms in elderly people with glaucoma and other clinical and epidemiological factors that were associated to the presence depression.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at the Hospital de Olhos Leiria de Andrade, including volunteers aged 60 years or over. Individuals were separated into patients with glaucoma and patients without glaucoma. Volunteers responded a questionnaire, containing data from clinical history and the Geriatric Depression Scale – 15, and were submitted to a complete ophthalmological evaluation.Results: Overall, 42 patients in the glaucoma group and 40 patients in the non-glaucoma group were evaluated. The mean age among cases was 70.2 years, while in the control group it was 65.7 years. The evaluation of the Geriatric Depression Scale – 15 showed an average score of 4.21 and 3.82 in the case and control groups, respectively, with no statistical difference. However, the worsening of visual acuity was related to a greater number of depressive symptoms when comparing individuals with glaucoma. When analyzing the correlation between age, in both groups, and the number of depressive symptoms, there was no statistical significance.Conclusion: The presence of glaucoma was not associated with an increase in the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 score. However, the worsening in visual acuity was correlated to a greater number of depressive symptoms.


2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 991-999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Villoslada ◽  
Ami Cuneo ◽  
Jeffrey Gelfand ◽  
Stephen L Hauser ◽  
Ari Green

Objectives: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) frequently causes injury to the anterior visual pathway (AVP), impairing quality of life due to visual dysfunction. Development of biomarkers in MS is a high priority and both low-contrast visual acuity (LCVA) and time-domain optical coherence tomography (TD-OCT) have been proposed as candidates for this purpose. We sought to assess whether psychophysical assessments of color vision are similarly correlated with structural measures of AVP injury, and therefore augment measures of visual disability in MS. Methods: We studied the association between high-contrast visual acuity (HCVA), LCVA, color vision (Hardy–Rand–Rittler plates (HRR) and Lanthony D15 tests) and OCT, using both high-resolution spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT; Spectralis, Heidelberg Engineering, Germany) and TD-OCT (Stratus, Carl Zeiss, US) in a cohort of 213 MS patients (52 with previous optic neuritis) and 47 matched controls in a cross-sectional study. Results: We found that MS patients have impairments in HCVA and LCVA ( p < 0.001) but that they suffer from even more profound abnormalities in color discrimination ( p < 0.0001). We found strong correlation between color vision and SD-OCT measures of retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness (average RNFL, r = 0.594, p < 0.001) and papillomacular bundle thickness ( r = −0.565, p < 0.001). The correlation between OCT scores and functional visual impairments of all types was much stronger for SD-OCT than for TD-OCT. Conclusion: Our results indicate that color vision is highly correlated with these OCT scores when compared with traditional measures of visual acuity. Also we found that SD-OCT is superior to TD-OCT for detecting anterior visual pathway damage in MS. This makes both color-visual measures and SD-OCT strong candidate biomarkers of disease progression.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (Supplement_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kofod Dea ◽  
Thomas Peter Almdal ◽  
Vibeke Rømming Sørensen ◽  
Bo Feldt-Rasmussen ◽  
Mads Hornum

Abstract Background and Aims Newer data suggests that there has been a substantial reduction in the incidence of diabetic complications over the past 30 years. However, little is known about whether this reduction also applies to patients with diabetes and end stage renal disease. The present study examined the current prevalence and the changes in microvascular and macrovascular diabetes-related complications in dialysis patients. Method The study was carried out as a cross-sectional study of all 119 diabetic patients in chronic dialysis at our department during June 2019. Data on diabetes-related complications was obtained from the patients’ electronic medical records and compared with a historic control group of all 38 diabetic dialysis patients examined in 2004. Results Currently, 12.3% had foot ulcer, while 40.3% had a history of foot ulcer. Lower extremity amputations were seen in 19.3%, with 7.6 % being amputated above-knee level. Development of Charcot foot was seen in 3.4%, and 64.1% had diabetic retinopathy (27.2% with proliferations), 27.2% had maculopathy, and 18.4% had a visual acuity lower than 0.3. A total of 31.1% had atrial fibrillation or flutter, 14.3% had angina pectoris and 20.2% had a history of myocardial infarction. A history of stroke or transient ischemic attack was observed in 21.8% and 6.7%, respectively. Compared with data from the 2004 cohort, we found a significant reduction in the prevalence of current foot ulcers (p=0.013), proliferative retinopathy (p=0.007) and visual acuity lower than 0.3 (p=0.028). Conclusion The findings of this study indicate that there has been a reduction in current foot ulcers and eye complications over the past 15 years among diabetic dialysis patients, whereas the prevalence of amputations, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular complications remains high.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Urmi Mehta ◽  
Anna Diep ◽  
Kevin Nguyen ◽  
Bryan Le ◽  
Clara Yuh ◽  
...  

AbstractPurposeThe cone contrast threshold (CCT) test quantified color vision changes in subjects of all ages and those undergoing cataract surgery.MethodsTwenty-four healthy volunteers from two cohort studies performed CCT using best corrected visual acuity, filters, mydriasis, and pinhole correction. Retrospective cross-sectional study of patients seen in eye clinics evaluated the relationship between age and color vision, and age and lens status in 355 eyes. Lastly, 25 subjects performed CCT before and after cataract surgery.ResultsCCT scores were most reliable in the non-mydriatic condition without pinhole correction. Progressively dense brown filters produced small but significant reductions in S-cone sensitivity. Linear regression analysis of phakic subjects showed a decline for all cone classes with age. Rate of decline was greater for S-cones (slope (95% CI) = −1.09 (−1.23, 0.94)) than M-cones (slope (95% CI) = −0.80 (−0.95, −0.66)) and L-cones (slope (95% CI) = −0.66 (−0.81, - 0.52)). CCT scores increased for S-cones but reduced for L- and M-cones in pseudophakic subjects compared to phakic patients. CCT scores after cataract surgery increased for S-cones, M-cones, and L-cones by 33.0 (p<0.001), 24.9 (p=0.001), and 22.0 (p=0.008).ConclusionsCCT assessment allows for clinically practical quantitation of color and contrast vision improvement after cataract surgery and aging patients who note poor vision despite good visual acuity.Translational RelevanceCCT testing, historically used in research, is now a clinically practical tool to evaluate age and cataract related changes in color and contrast vision and routinely quantify vision beyond black and white visual acuity testing.


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. e492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noah Ayadi ◽  
Jan Dörr ◽  
Seyedamirhosein Motamedi ◽  
Kay Gawlik ◽  
Judith Bellmann-Strobl ◽  
...  

ObjectiveTo examine temporal visual resolution assessed as critical flicker frequency (CFF) in patients with MS and to investigate associations with visual system damage and general disability and cognitive function.MethodsThirty-nine patients with MS and 31 healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled in this cross-sectional study and underwent CFF testing, high- and low-contrast visual acuity, alertness and information processing speed using the paced auditory serial addition task (PASAT), and retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT). In patients with MS, visual evoked potentials (VEPs) and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores were assessed.ResultsCFF in patients with MS (mean ± SD: 40.9 ± 4.4 Hz) was lower than in HCs (44.8 ± 4.4 Hz, p < 0.001). There was no significant CFF difference between eyes with and without previous optic neuritis (ON). CFF was not associated with visual acuity, VEP latency, the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, and the combined ganglion cell and inner plexiform layer volume. Instead, reduced CFF was associated with worse EDSS scores (r2 = 0.26, p < 0.001) and alertness (r2 = 0.42, p = 0.00042) but not with PASAT (p = 0.33).ConclusionCFF reduction in MS occurs independently of ON and structural visual system damage. Its association with the EDSS score and alertness suggests that CFF reflects global disease processes and higher cortical processing rather than focal optic nerve or retinal damage.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yevgeniya Atiskova ◽  
Rahman Rassuli ◽  
Anja Friederike Koehn ◽  
Amir Golsari ◽  
Lars Wagenfeld ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Fabry disease (FD) is an X-linked inherited storage disorder caused by deficiency of lysosomal alpha-Galactosidase A. Here we describe new retinal findings in patients with FD assessed by Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and their possible clinical relevance. Methods 54 eyes of 27 FD patients and 54 eyes of 27 control subjects were included. The ophthalmic examination included visual acuity testing, tonometry, slit lamp and fundus examination. SD-OCT imaging of the macula was performed in all subjects. Central retinal thickness and retinal nerve fiber layer analysis were quantified. Vessel tortuosity was obtained by a subjective scoring and mathematically calculated. Inner retinal hyperreflective foci (HRF) were quantified, clinically graded and correlated with a biomarker of Fabry disease (lyso-Gb3). Results In comparison to an age-matched control group, a significant amount of HRF was identified in macular SD-OCT images in FD patients. These HRF were localized within the inner retinal layers. Furthermore, lyso-Gb3 levels correlated significantly with the quantitative evaluation of HRF (p < 0,001). In addition, the vessel tortuosity was remarkably increased in FD patients compared to control persons and correlated significantly with lyso-G3 levels (p = 0.005). A further subanalysis revealed significantly higher HRF and vessel tortuosity scores in male patients with the classic FD phenotype. Conclusions The observational, cross sectional, comparative study describes novel intraretinal findings in patients with FD. We were able to identify suspicious HRF within the inner retinal layers. These findings were not accompanied by functional limitations, as visual acuity remained unchanged. However, HRF correlated well with lyso-Gb3, a degradation product of the accumulating protein Gb3 and might potentially indicate Gb3 accumulation within the highly metabolic and densely vascularized macula.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Lisicki ◽  
Jean Schoenen

Introduction: Migraine is a multifactorial neurological disorder with a major metabolic facet. Dietary approaches represent a commonly implemented lifestyle modifying strategy in headache clinics, yet the precise relationship between diet and migraine is still a matter of debate.Materials and Methods: The study consisted of two parts: first, in a cross-sectional design, we compared alimentary habits of migraine subjects and a control group of healthy volunteers. For the second part, we prospectively evaluated patients' daily consumption of various potentially migraine-triggering foods over a two-month period in order to examine their possible association with the occurrence of a migraine attack.Results: Most migraine patients reported avoiding at least one potentially migraine-triggering food/drink from their diet. In spite of that, with the sole exemption of citrus fruits, there were no statistically significant differences with respect to consumption patterns between migraine patients and controls (including wine and chocolate). Consumption frequency over time was proportional to intake of potentially migraine-triggering foods the day before a migraine attack.Conclusion: Our results underline the need of performing trigger challenges in order to avoid falling into an association-causation fallacy when attempting to identify possible alimentary migraine triggers. Indeed, it is possible that intake of certain foods like chocolate before attacks is a consequence of pre-attack cravings or a simple coincidence facilitated by previously established dietary habits.


The Auk ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 136 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Esteban Fernández-Juricic ◽  
Patrice E Baumhardt ◽  
Luke P Tyrrell ◽  
Amanda Elmore ◽  
Shelagh T DeLiberto ◽  
...  

Abstract Avian vision is fundamentally different from human vision; however, even within birds there are substantial between-species differences in visual perception in terms of visual acuity, visual coverage, and color vision. However, there are not many species that have all these visual traits described, which can constrain our ability to study the evolution of visual systems in birds. To start addressing this gap, we characterized multiple traits of the visual system (visual coverage, visual acuity, centers of acute vision, and color vision) of the Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus), one of the most abundant and studied birds in North America. We found that Red-winged Blackbirds have: wide visual coverage; one center of acute vision per eye (fovea) projecting fronto-laterally with high density of single and double cones, making it the center of both chromatic and achromatic vision; a wide binocular field that does not have the input of the centers of acute vision; and an ultraviolet sensitive visual system. With this information, we parameterized a Red-winged Blackbird-specific perceptual model considering different plumage patches. We found that the male red epaulet was chromatically conspicuous but with minimal achromatic signal, but the male yellow patch had a lower chromatic but a higher achromatic signal, which may be explained by the pigment composition of the feathers. However, the female epaulet was not visually conspicuous in both the chromatic and achromatic dimensions compared with other female feather patches. We discuss the implications of this visual system configuration relative to the foraging, antipredator, mate choice, and social behaviors of Red-winged Blackbirds. Our findings can be used for comparative studies as well as for making more species-specific predictions about different visual behaviors for future empirical testing.


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