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Query: UMLS:C0022568 (keratitis)
 5,133 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Acanthamoeba castellanii is the causative agent of blinding keratitis. Though reported in non-contact lens wearers, it is most frequently associated with improper use of contact lens. For contact lens wearers, amoebae attachment to the lens is a critical first step, followed by amoebae binding to the corneal epithelial cells during extended lens wear. Acanthamoeba attachment to surfaces (biological or inert) and migration is an active process and occurs during the trophozoite stage. Thus retaining amoebae in the cyst stage (dormant form) offers an added preventative measure in impeding parasite traversal from the contact lens onto the cornea. Here, we showed that as low as 3% DMSO, abolished A. castellanii excystation. Based on the findings, it is proposed that DMSO should be included in the contact lens disinfectants as an added preventative strategy against contracting Acanthamoeba keratitis.
Cont Lens Anterior Eye 2016 Oct
PMID:The use of dimethyl sulfoxide in contact lens disinfectants is a potential preventative strategy against contracting Acanthamoeba keratitis. 2713 48

Natural products have been in use long before the introduction of modern drug therapies and are still used in various communities worldwide for the treatment of anterior eye disease. The aim of this review is to look at the current non-pharmaceutical modalities that have been tried and assess the body of existing evidence behind them. This includes alternative medicine, existing non-pharmaceutical therapy and more recent low and high tech solutions. A detailed search of all available databases including MEDLINE, Pubmed and Google was made to look for English-language studies for complementary and alternative treatment modalities (CAM), natural therapies and new modalities for anterior eye disease such as blepharitis, dry eye and microbial keratitis. We have included a broad discussion ranging from traditional treatments like honey and aloe vera which have been used for centuries, to the more recent technological advances like Intense Pulsed Light (IPL), LipiFlow and photoactivated chromophore for corneal cross linking in infectious keratitis (PACK-CXL). Alternative management strategies may have a role in anterior eye diseases and have a potential in changing the way we currently approach them. Some of the available CAM could play a role if incorporated in to current management practices of not only chronic diseases like blepharitis and dry eye, but also acute conditions with significant morbidity like microbial keratitis. Further large-scale randomized control trials stratified by disease severity are required to improve our understanding and to evaluate the use of non-pharmaceutical therapy against current practice.
Cont Lens Anterior Eye 2017 Dec
PMID:Drugs - Do we need them? Applications of non-pharmaceutical therapy in anterior eye disease: A review. 3013 Dec 16

Acanthamoeba spp. is a free living protozoan in the environment, but can cause serious diseases. Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK), a severe and painful eye infection, must be treated as soon as possible to prevent ulceration of the cornea, loss of visual acuity, and eventually blindness or enucleation. Although the disease affects principally contact lens (CLs) wearers, it is recognized nowadays as a cause of keratitis also in non-CLs wearers. Although the number of infections caused by these amoebae is low, AK is an emerging disease presenting an extended number of cases each year worldwide mostly due to the increasing use of CLs, but also to better diagnostic methods and awareness. There are two principal causes that lead to severe outcomes: misdiagnosis or late diagnosis of the causal agent, and lack of a fully effective therapy due to the existence of a highly resistant cyst stage of Acanthamoeba. Recent studies have reported different genotypes that have not been previously associated with this disease. In addition, Acanthamoeba can act as a reservoir for phylogenetically diverse microorganisms. In this regard, recently giant viruses called Pandoravirus have been found within genotypes producing keratitis. What potential risk this poses is not yet known. This review focuses on an overview of the present status and future prospects of this re-emerging pathology, including features of the parasite, epidemiology, clinical aspects, diagnosis, and treatment.
Cont Lens Anterior Eye 2018 06
PMID:Acanthamoeba in the eye, can the parasite hide even more? Latest developments on the disease. 2927 91

Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) is a sight threatening infection most commonly affecting contact lens wearers. The authors report a case of intractable A.polyphaga and A.castellanii, with extensive intraocular spread, managed using oral miltefosine. A 59-year old male contact lens wearer was referred to the tertiary corneal service at Bristol Eye Hospital. Vision was hand movements on the left and 6/6 on the right. Clinical examination was consistent with left AK (confirmed by corneal scrape). Management included biguanide (polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB) 0.02%, later 0.06%) and diamidine (hexamidine 0.1%). Further treatment included imidazole (guttae voriconazole, oral posaconazole) and fortified biguanide (chlorhexidine 0.2%). Therapeutic PKP was performed. Microscopy revealed Acanthamoeba throughout host stroma. Corneal scrape and anterior chamber tap revealed persistent infection with Acanthamoeba. Intracameral voriconazole was administered twice. Clinically there was scleritis, with concerns regarding posterior segment involvement. There was a severe necrotic keratitis with almost complete corneal melt, requiring enucleation. Oral miltefosine was commenced to reduce the risk of transmission of Acanthamoeba beyond ocular structures at the time of the enucleation. Histopathological analysis detected A.polyphaga and A.castellanii in vitreous but not retina, choroid or optic nerve suggesting that infection had not progressed posteriorly through the ocular structures and the central nervous system was not involved. The use of miltefosine as a component of combination anti-parasitic therapy is associated with long-term survival in cases of Acanthamoeba infection of the central nervous system. This case reports its first systemic use in the United Kingdom in a case of severe intractable AK with intraocular spread.
Cont Lens Anterior Eye 2018 Aug
PMID:The use of miltefosine in the management of refractory Acanthamoeba keratitis. 2958 Sep 56

Lack of or inadequate hand washing is a risk factor in the development of contact lens related microbial keratitis and corneal inflammatory events. In the public health domain there is compelling evidence that proper hand washing with soap can save lives. The purpose of this review is to draw attention to some of the public health literature in support of hand washing and how education can influence patients' hand hygiene behavior. Contact lens wearers are also guilty of poor hand washing behavior but there is scant evidence that education of hand washing procedures of lens wearers alters patient non-compliance. It is well known that pathogenic microbial contamination of contact lenses, lens cases, care solutions and anterior ocular components have been found with contact lens wear. However while the originating source may be hands or water, it is most likely both of these. Besides proper hand washing this paper will include mitigating strategies for avoiding microbial contamination.
Cont Lens Anterior Eye 2019 04
PMID:Hand hygiene is linked to microbial keratitis and corneal inflammatory events. 3041 75

Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus are the two dominant Gram-negative and -positive species, respectively, isolated from patients with contact lens-related bacterial keratitis. The clinical features of bacterial keratitis vary, such that timely differential diagnosis can be challenging, which may cause a delay in diagnosis resulting in poorer outcome. This review aims to explore the current understanding of clinical and immunological features associated with contact lens-related P. aeruginosa and S. aureus keratitis based on currently available evidence. Firstly, the review characterises contact lens-related P. aeruginosa and S. aureus keratitis, based on clinical features and prognostic factors. Secondly, the review describes the primary immune response associated with a bacterial infection in in-vivo non-scratch contact lens-wearing animal models, colonised by bacteria on contact lens and topical administration of bacteria on the cornea. Finally, the review discusses the role of macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2) and intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM-1) in neutrophil recruitment based on both in-vivo scratch models of bacterial keratitis and bacterial challenged in cell culture models.
Cont Lens Anterior Eye 2020 Dec 08
PMID:Understanding clinical and immunological features associated with Pseudomonas and Staphylococcus keratitis. 3330 56


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