Ithar Beshtawi

An-Najah National University · Department of Bio-Medical Sciences

Purpose: To compare the biocompatibility and subjective symptoms of four multipurpose solutions marketed in Palestine with hydrogel contact lenses. Methods: 50 habitual soft contact lens wearers were recruited in this interventional crossover study. Subjects were asked to attend the optometry clinic five times. A new pair of hydrogel lenses (Bio...

Background: Keratoconus (KC) is a multifactorial, degenerative ectatic condition of the cornea. It usually manifests during late adolescence or the early twenties. A painless disease, KC may end with severe visual loss. The prevalence of KC in middle-eastern countries is much higher than in other regions of the world. This may be due to genetic an...

Background Vision screening programmes for preschool children (aged 3–5 years) have been implemented for early detection and intervention of blinding visual disorders. In the occupied Palestinian territory, scientific data on visual disorders among preschool children are lacking. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of visual disor...

To assess the biomechanical changes of collagen cross-linking on keratoconic corneas in vitro. Six keratoconic corneal buttons were included in this study. Each cornea was divided into two halves, where one half was cross-linked and the other half was treated with riboflavin only and served as control. The biomechanical changes of the corneal tissu...

Purpose: To explore the biomechanical changes induced by repeated cross-linking using scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM). Methods: Thirty human corneas were divided into three groups. In group A, five corneas were cross-linked once. In group B, five corneas were cross-linked twice, 24 hours apart. In group C, five corneas were cross-linked three...

Purpose: To assess and compare changes in the biomechanical properties of the cornea following different corneal collagen cross-linking protocols using scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM). Methods: Ten donor human corneal pairs were divided into two groups consisting of five corneal pairs in each group. In group A, five corneas were treated with...

Photodynamic collagen crosslinking (CXL) using ultraviolet-A (UVA) irradiation combined with the photosensitizer riboflavin has been introduced as a new treatment for progressive keratoconus. The results of clinical studies are promising, but the efficacy of the treatment in halting the progression depends on the stability of the induced biomechani...

Purpose: To assess the feasibility of applying scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) on UV cross-linked corneal tissue for mapping and analyzing its biomechanical properties. Materials and methods: Five corneal pairs (10 corneas) were used. In each pair, one cornea was cross-linked (epithelium removed, riboflavin application for 45 min and UVA irra...