Ophthalmology Commons^™

A Comparison Of Clinical Trial And Model-Based Cost Estimates In Glaucoma – The Case Of Repeat Laser Trabeculoplasty In Ontario, Omar Akhtar

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Background and objective: For cost-effectiveness analyses (CEA) of glaucoma interventions to be of use they require valid and accurate cost and effectiveness data. Costs remain understudied relative to effectiveness. The impact of cost estimation methods on resultant estimates is unknown in glaucoma. Direct measurement of costs is labour-intensive and expensive. Decision-analytic modelling of costs using literature sources, expert opinion, institutional experience and assumptions provides a quicker, less laborious alternative to empirical costing. A lack of long-term effectiveness data in chronic diseases like glaucoma means that modelling is widespread and inevitable, both for CEAs and budget impact projections. The same problem …

Neuroprotective Effects Of Retinal Ganglion Cells By Specific Alpha 7 Nicotine Acetylcholine Receptor Agonists And An Acetylcholineesterase Inhibitor, Sara Kaliszak

Honors Theses

In previous studies from this lab, an alpha7 nACh receptor was found to successfully modulate retinal ganglion cell neuroprotection against glutamate assault when bound to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, or if an alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine agonist, such as PNU-282987 was used in in vitro models (Wehrwein et al., 2004; Iwamoto et al., 2013). These in vitro studies support the hypothesis that activation of alpha7 nicotinic ACh receptors triggers neuroprotection against loss of retinal ganglion cells normally induced by excessive glutamate insult. The results from these in vitro studies instigated an in vivo study in our lab using a rat glaucoma model. …

Retinal Synaptic Function In The Absence Of The On Pathway., Kathryn Marie Heath Fransen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Complete Congenital Stationary Night Blindness (cCSNB) is a rare hereditary retinal disorder characterized by abnormal night vision. cCSNB is caused by postsynaptic defects in On bipolar cells (BCs) and is identified by the presence of an electroretinogram (ERG) with a normal a-wave, corresponding to photoreceptor function, and the absence of a b-wave, corresponding to a failure of On BC function. Through the study of genetic mutations in mouse that result in no b-wave ERG phenotypes, several proteins have been identified that play crucial roles in On BC signal transmission. I focused on four mouse models of cCSNB; Nyxnob (Nyctalopin mutant), …

Boundary Contour Based Surface Representation., Yong Su

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We receive most information about our surrounding space and objects through the eyes. To reconstruct the 3D space and objects in the visual system from the 2D retinal images, surface representation must be a critical intermediate stage in the visual processing stream. It is hypothesized in the dissertation that the visual system represents textured surface by a border-to-interior strategy: boundary contours would be encoded first and then border-ownership assignments would be resolved. This process would solve the related problems such as figure-ground segregation, surface depth relationship, occlusion, transparency, etc. As a result, the boundary contours of the surfaces would be …

Dendrimer Based Nanotherapeutics For Ocular Drug Delivery, Siva Pramodh Kambhampati

Wayne State University Dissertations

PAMAM dendrimers are a class of well-defined, hyperbranched polymeric nanocarriers that are being investigated for ocular drug and gene delivery. Their favorable properties such as small size, multivalency and water solubility can provide significant opportunities for many biologically unstable drugs and allows potentially favorable ocular biodistribution. This work exploits hydroxyl terminated dendrimers (G4-OH) as drug/gene delivery vehicles that can target retinal microglia and pigment epithelium via systemic delivery with improved efficacy at much lower concentrations without any side effects.

Two different drugs Triamcinolone acetonide (TA) and N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) conjugated to G4-OH dendrimers showed tailorable sustained release in physiological relevant …

In Adult Patients With Diabetic Macular Edema Are Intravetrial Bevacizumab Injections More Effective Than Laser Therapy At Improving Best-Corrected Visual Acuity?, Heather Bladek

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not in adult patients with diabetic macular edema intravetrial bevacizumab injections are more effective than laser therapy at improving best-corrected visual acuity.

STUDY DESIGN: Review of three English language non-blinded randomized control trials from 2010 and 2012.

DATA SOURCES: Non-blinded randomized control trials comparing intravetrial bevacizumab injections to macular laser therapy found using Pubmed and EBSCOhost web databases. All articles were published in peer-reviewed journals.

OUTCOMES MEASURED: The primary outcome of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was measured using the Early Treatment of Diabetic …

Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors Are Anti-Inflammatory And Target Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Benjamin J. Fowler

Theses and Dissertations--Physiology

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a principal cause of blindness in the United States and other industrialized nations. An estimated 10 million Americans are afflicted with AMD, which is comparable in scope to the 12 million living with cancer, or the 5 million with Alzheimer’s disease. The prevalence of AMD steadily increases with age, affecting 2% of the population at age 40, and one in four people by age 80. For reasons that are not fully understood, AMD is more common in lightly-pigmented and female populations. Treatment of AMD is largely an unmet need: There are no FDA approved therapies …