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Carlo Nucci

Publications and source records attributed to Carlo Nucci.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Validity and limitations of the Nidek NT-4000 non-contact tonometer: a clinical study.

Using Goldmann applanation tonometry (GAT) as a gold standard, we evaluated the accuracy of Nidek NT-4000 pneumotonometry (NPT) in adults without corneal disease. Bland and Altman analysis of serial intra-ocular pressures (IOPs) measured with NPT and GAT in 10 healthy subjects revealed that the repeatability coefficients for the two methods were similar. NPT, GAT and ultrasonic pachymetry were then performed in 100 patients. Bland and Altman analysis showed that NPT yielded significantly higher readings than GAT [mean biases for right and left eye measurements were 1.37 mmHg (95% limits of agreement: -3.02-5.76) and 1.17 mmHg (95% limits of agreement: -2.76-5.11) respectively] and was more affected by corneal thickness variations. For detection of IOPs > or =21 mmHg, NPT displayed very high sensitivity (0.90) and good specificity (0.95). NPT may be useful in screening and clinical settings but borderline-high IOP readings should be confirmed with GAT.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Neurochemical evidence to implicate elevated glutamate in the mechanisms of high intraocular pressure (IOP)-induced retinal ganglion cell death in rat.

High intraocular pressure (IOP)-induced ischemia is a model for retinal neurodegeneration that recapitulates pathological features almost identical to those seen in patients after central retinal or ophthalmic artery occlusion and may also represent a model of acute angle closure glaucoma. Using this experimental model, we present data indicating that acute IOP elevation for 45 min is followed by a progressive decline in the number of retinal ganglion cells (RGC) which appear to die via an apoptotic mechanism. The observation that systemic treatment with MK801, a N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, with GYKI52466, a non-NMDA receptor antagonist, or with l-NAME, an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), prevents the RGC loss observed 24 after IOP elevation strongly suggests an excitotoxic, glutamate-mediated, mechanism of RGC death. The latter deduction is strengthened by the evidence that a microdialysis probe placed into the retinal tissue of rats bearing IOP elevation revealed an increase (90% as compared to baseline value) in glutamate levels that peaked 130 min after the beginning of reperfusion and was reversed by a pre-treatment with MK801. Collectively, our data suggest that acute elevation of IOP increases intraretinal levels of glutamate with consequent abnormal activation of NMDA and non-NMDA subtypes of glutamate receptors and increased NOS activity leading to excitotoxic, glutamate-mediated, RGC death.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

A microbiological and confocal microscopy study documenting a slime-producing Staphylococcus epidermidis isolated from a nylon corneal suture of a patient with antibiotic-resistant endophthalmitis.

BACKGROUND: We describe a case of posttraumatic endophthalmitis unresponsive to systemic (amoxicillin+clavulanic acid and piperacillin/tazobactam), intra-ocular (vancomycin) and topical (ofloxacin, tetracycline and sulfametoxazole) antibiotic therapy. Microbiological and confocal microscopy studies of a nylon corneal suture revealed the presence of a slime-producing strain of Staphylococcus epidermidis. METHODS: We describe the history and clinical presentation of a 77-year-old man in whom a high-grade posttraumatic endophthalmitis resolved only after the removal of a single nylon corneal suture. Microbiological investigations of the aqueous, vitreous and suture were performed, and the propensity of the suture-associated isolate to form biofilm was assessed using confocal microscopy. RESULTS: A single stain of S. epidermidis was isolated from both aqueous and vitreous specimens and from the suture. The planktonic form of the isolate was susceptible in vitro to the antibiotics administered to the patient, but the strain was capable of forming biofilms and this phenotype showed resistance to high concentrations of the same antibiotics. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of a slime-producing strain of S. epidermidis should be considered in endophthalmitis that is unresponsive to specific antibiotic therapy, especially in cases in which an intra-ocular foreign body (e.g., a suture) is present.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Association between lens opacities and mortality in the Priverno Eye Study.

BACKGROUND: Lens opacities are associated with a higher risk of death, although there are some discrepancies regarding the specific types of cataract representing risk. The purpose of the present study was to further investigate the relationships between different types of lens opacity and patient survival. METHODS: In 1987, 860 residents of Priverno, Italy, aged 45-69 years underwent an ophthalmologic examination. Based on patient histories and the findings of the slit-lamp examination, each of the 860 patients was classified according to the type of opacity (pure cortical, pure nuclear, pure posterior subcapsular, mixed, and surgical aphakia). The survivors of the original cohort were re-examined in 1994. Death and survival rates were computed by the Kaplan-Meier method. Associations between mortality and significant factors were included in a stepwise Cox proportional-hazards regression model. RESULTS: Forty-four members of the original cohort had died during the 7-year follow-up. Age-adjusted survival curves based on Kaplan-Meier estimates showed significantly lower survival in those whose baseline examinations had revealed pure nuclear opacity (log rank test: P=0.020) and aphakia (log rank test: P<0.001). When adjusted for other mortality risk factors (age, sex, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases), the hazard ratio was 4.32 for pure nuclear opacity (95% CI 1.13-16.4) and 18.3 for aphakia (95% CI 3.21-104.0). CONCLUSIONS: The analysis of the Priverno data seems to confirm an association between lower survival and cataracts, particularly those confined to the lens nucleus and those that had already prompted surgery.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

Incidence of blindness and low vision in a sample population: the Priverno Eye Study, Italy.

PURPOSE: To study the incidence of blindness and low vision over a 7-year period. DESIGN: Population-based cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: The survivors of the original cohort of 860 persons from Priverno, Italy, aged 45 to 69 years, were reexamined. Of the 760 eligible survivors, 619 (81.4%) had a 7-year follow-up visit. METHODS: Baseline and follow-up examinations included the collection of anamnestic and ophthalmologic data by the same observers using the same methods and classification criteria to minimize sources of variability. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Best-corrected visual acuity (VA) measured at 4 m by standardized logarithmic chart was expressed as the logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR). World Health Organization definitions of blindness and low vision were adopted (respectively, VA > 1.3 logMar and VA > 0.6 to 1.3 logMar in the better eye or in either eye). Participants at risk for visual impairment were those without blindness or low vision in one or both eyes at baseline; participants at risk for one-eye visual impairment were those without blindness or low vision in both eyes at baseline. RESULTS: A total of 33 participants were defined as incident cases of visual impairment. The overall incidence figures for blindness, low vision, one-eye blindness, and one-eye low vision were respectively 0.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.0-0.9), 1.3% (95% CI, 0.7-2.6), 1.2% (95% CI, 0.6-2.4), and 2.9% (95% CI, 1.8-4.6). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides population-based estimates of the incidence of visual impairment in an adult, free-living European population. With respect to the younger participants, older subjects at baseline were at higher risk for incident visual impairment, the main causes of which were cataract, myopia, and diabetic retinopathy. The incidence of visual impairment in the subgroup aged 55 to 64 years at baseline was significantly higher than that found in Beaver Dam 5-year study and similar to that found in Beaver Dam 10-year Study, when the same definitions were adopted. This difference may be partially explained by social and cultural habits of the female samples, but many other factors may play a role.

Aged↗