Technological advancement has brought commendable changes in medicine, advancing diagnosis, treatment, and interventions. Telemedicine has been adopted by various subspecialties including ophthalmology. Over the years, teleophthalmology has been implemented in various countries, and continuous progress is being made in this area. In underserved populations, due to socioeconomic factors, there is little or no access to healthcare facilities, and people are at higher risk of eye diseases and vision impairment. Transportation is the major hurdle for these people in obtaining access to eye care in the main hospitals. There is a dire need for accessible eye care for such populations, and teleophthalmology is the ray of hope for providing eye care facilities to underserved people. Numerous studies have reported the advantages of teleophthalmology for rural populations such as being cost-effective, timesaving, reliable, efficient, and satisfactory for patients. Although it is being practiced in urban populations, for rural populations, its benefits amplify. However, there are certain obstacles as well, such as the cost of equipment, lack of steady electricity and internet supply in rural areas, and the attitude of people in certain regions toward acceptance of teleophthalmology. In this review, we have discussed in detail eye health in rural populations, teleophthalmology, and its effectiveness in rural populations of different countries.

Trace elements play an important role in the pathogenesis of several serious ophthalmological disorders, such as glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy, cataract, etc. This study aimed to measure alterations of chemical elements’ (67) levels in the aqueous humor of patients undergoing cataract surgery. The pilot study included 115 patients, (age 74 ± 7.27, female 64.35%, male 35.65%). The aqueous levels of elements were measured by the use of the inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), quality controlled with certified standards. The classification of elements based on their concentration was achieved by hierarchical cluster analysis. This is the first screening study that quantifies over 60 elements which are present in the fluid from the anterior chamber of the eye of cataract patients. The obtained results can be suitable for understanding and identifying the causes that may play a role in the initiation and progression of lens opacity.

Tryptophan (TRP) is to an essential amino acid and its catabolites are significant to human health. By using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS), levels of three major components of kynurenic pathway namely tryptophan (TRP), kynurenic acid (KYNA) and kynurenine (KYN) in fluid from the anterior chamber of the eye were determined. The analysis was carried out on a Synergi 4 μ Fusion-RP column using gradient elution mode. For quantitative determination, l-tryptophan-amino-15N, 99 ATOM % 15N was used as an internal standard. The method was linear in the concentration range 4–2000 ng mL⁻¹ for TRP, KYNA and KYN. The mean recoveries measured at four concentration levels for TRP, KYN and KYNA included the following ranges 94.3–96.1; 91.0–95.0; and 96.0–97.6%, respectively. The intra-day precision parameters were smaller than 4.4, 6.4 and 5% respectively. The developed method was applied to study the level of TRP, KYNA and KYN in eye fluid for the retrospective case series which included 28 patients suffering from cataracts and diabetes (n = 8). The experimental data was subjected to statistical analysis. The Mann-Whitney U-test revealed clear differences in the level of TRP catabolites and the ratios of TRP/KYN representing the activities of specific enzyme of kynurenine pathway in examined groups of patients. A level of probability p < 0.05 was used throughout a paper to denote statistically significant differences between the groups.

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the effect of oral contraceptives (OCs) on risk of breast cancer (BrCa) by status of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). We searched the MEDLINE (PubMed), Embase and the Cochrane Library database and bibliographies of pertinent articles published up to 2020. Therein, we identified nineteen eligible case-control studies which provided data by breast cancer subtypes: ER-positive (ER+), ER-negative (ER−), HER2-positive (HER2+) and Triplet-negative (TN). Summary risk estimates (pooled OR [pOR]) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using fixed/random effects models. The summary meta-analysis showed that over-use of OCs led to significant increased risk of TNBrCa (OR = 1.37, 95% CI; 1.13 to 1.67, p = 0.002), as well as of ER−BrCa (OR = 1.20, 95% CI: 1.03 to 1.40, p = 0.019). There was also a significant reduction in the risk of ER+BrCa (OR = O.92, 95% CI: 0.86 to 0.99, p = 0.026,) and a slight reduction in the risk of HER2+BrCa (OR = 0.95, 95% CI; 0.79 to 1.14, p = 0.561) after taking OCs. Meta-analysis indicated that OC use has different impacts on risk of breast cancer subtypes defined by receptor status. The identified differences between individual subtypes of breast cancer may reflect different mechanisms of carcinogenesis.

The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 responsible for the current human COVID-19 pandemic has shown tropism toward different organs with variable efficiency, eyes included. The purpose of this study has been to investigate the presence of detectable SARS-CoV-2 infection in ocular swabs in patients affected by COVID-19. A consecutive series of 74 COVID-19-positive patients (age 21–89) were enrolled at two Polish COVID-19 hospitals for 4 months and were characterized by PCR for the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 genetic material in nasopharyngeal (NP) and ocular swabs, while their respiratory and ocular symptoms were noted. Almost 50% of them presented with severe/critical respiratory involvement, and some degree of eye disease. No tight correlation was observed between the presence of ocular and respiratory symptoms. Three male patients presenting with severe/critical lung disease tested positive in ocular swab, however with mild/moderate ocular symptoms. In conclusion, our study lends further support to the view that overt ocular infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus is not such a frequent occurrence.

Introduction: Teleophthalmology uses technology to provide remote eye care services, tackling obstacles in accessing specialized care. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) represents a technical advancement, enabling high-resolution ocular imaging. The aim of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy, feasibility, safety, and clinical utility of home monitoring OCT devices and remote OCT technology compared to standard in-office OCT in teleophthalmology settings across various eye conditions.Materials and methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar for studies on home-monitoring/remote OCT published from January 2004 to February 2024. Studies utilizing home monitoring/remote OCT in teleophthalmology for patients with eye disorders and reporting on diagnostic accuracy, safety, disease monitoring (clinical utility) or treatment response were included and synthesized narratively.Results: A total of 12 research studies involving 3,539 participants were incorporated in the analysis. The majority of home or remote OCT scans exhibited satisfactory diagnostic image quality. There was high agreement between home/remote and in-office OCT for detecting pathologies and measuring retinal thickness. Compared to in-person evaluations, home/remote OCT demonstrated excellent sensitivity and specificity, though some variability was seen across conditions and interpreters. Home OCT devices provided feasible and safe self-operation with high patient acceptability. Scan times were faster when conducted at home compared to those in the office.Conclusion: Home/remote OCT devices can effectively provide diagnostic-grade retinal imaging outside traditional settings. High diagnostic accuracy was demonstrated compared to in-office OCT. Feasibility and patient acceptability data support home OCT for remote monitoring.