This study investigates the educational opportunities, practices, and challenges faced by Students with Special Needs (SSNs) in mainstream Tamil-medium classrooms in the Kalpitty region of the Puttalam Education Zone. Using a mixed methods design, data were collected from 65 teachers, 5 principals, and 25 parents regarding 51 SSNs through questionnaires, structured interviews, and discussions. Findings indicate that 31% of students have intellectual or comprehension difficulties, 19% have speech impairments, 15% have hearing impairments, and 12% have visual impairments. Emotional factors moderately affected learning for 40.5% of students, while 25.4% demonstrated low classroom engagement. Implementation of Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and teacher monitoring was mostly rated medium, and 40% of students had very low access to assistive technology. Principals and parents reported challenges including inadequate facilities, limited teacher training, low parental involvement, and social isolation. Despite these barriers, students received support through individual attention (25%) and praise for small achievements (34%), reflecting efforts to foster inclusion. The study underscores the need for targeted interventions, strengthened teacher capacity, improved infrastructure, and enhanced inclusive practices to ensure equitable learning opportunities and holistic development of SSNs in mainstream classrooms.

Associations Between Visual Impairment and Homebound Status, Home Hazards, and Support Service Utilization: The National Health and Aging Trends Study.

Translation and Testing Psychometric Properties of the Thai Version of Vision Bolt-On EQ-5D in Patients With Visual Impairment.

Mobility in adults with visual impairment: Results from an online survey

Associations between refractive errors and mental health: A cohort study of UK Biobank participants.

The Association of Lapses in Diabetic Retinopathy Care with Vision Impairment

Clinical Characteristics and Long-term Visual Prognosis of Familial Exudative Vitreoretinopathy.

Sanguinarine attenuates Aspergillus fumigatus keratitis by exerting antifungal and anti-inflammatory effects.

Ferroptosis-mediated ocular developmental toxicity of biodegradable nanoplastics in zebrafish.

Introduction: Coloboma, a congenital defect resulting from the incomplete closure of the embryonal fissure, often affects the inferonasal part of the fundus. It is frequently associated with cataracts, which are a leading treatable cause of visual impairment. However, cataract surgery in colobomatous eyes presents significant challenges due to anatomical anomalies such as microcornea, zonular instability, poor pupillary dilation and structural irregularities. Need of the study: Cataract development is common in eyes with coloboma and significantly impacts vision, causing blurry vision, glare sensitivity and difficulties with daily activities. Cataract surgery in these eyes poses unique challenges due to the underlying anatomical abnormalities. Understanding the predictors of outcomes and the safety of different surgical techniques is crucial for optimising care and improving visual outcomes for patients with coloboma. By identifying factors associated with better or worse results, surgeons can tailor their approach to each individual patient, reducing risks and enhancing the chances of successful visual rehabilitation. Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate different cataract surgeries for eyes with colobomas, as well as the safety and outcome predictors of various surgical methods. Materials and Methods: This hospital-based prospective interventional study will be conducted at the Department of Ophthalmology, Acharya Vinobha Bhave Rural Hospital, Sawangi, Maharashtra, India, over two years (May 2024 - April 2026) with 34 patients. The study aims to evaluate the outcomes and safety of cataract surgery techniques, including Phacoemulsification (PE) and Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery (M-SICS). The type of surgery will depend on the degree of microcornea, cataract hardness and zonular stability. Preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative assessments will include detailed ophthalmic evaluations, visual acuity measurements, grading of microcornea and monitoring for complications such as corneal edema, using standardised grading systems. Statistical analysis will be performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS)-version 23 to identify predictors of surgical outcomes, with significance set at p<0.05. The study seeks to improve surgical techniques, enhance patient safety and provide insights into counseling and risk stratification for individuals with coloboma-associated cataracts.

Qingguang'An II decoction attenuates retinal ganglion cell pyroptosis in glaucoma via inhibition of the TRPV4/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Metabolomic biomarkers across plasma, serum, and ocular fluids in age-related macular degeneration: narrative review and evidence synthesis.

Refractive error detection in smartphone images via convolutional neural network.

Ocular toxoplasmosis (OT) caused by the protozoon Toxoplasma gondii is the leading cause of permanent blindness in the Maldives.3 This study aims to describe the epidemiology of OT in the Maldives. This is a retrospective cross-sectional study comprising 60 participants, which utilized census sampling to identify patients diagnosed with OT, enlisted on HINAI,the database of the government tertiary hospital in the capital city of Maldives, Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), as well as from VINAVI,the database of the universal health insurance scheme of Maldives, Aasandha between the years 2021 to 2024. The study demonstrates the association of the visual outcomes of OT based on age, gender, socioeconomic factors, contact with pets, comorbidities and clinical manifestations. Sociodemographic data was collected via phone interviews following verbal consent and the clinical data was extracted from the respective databases. Our findings revealed that severe visual impairment in OT was most commonly observed among lower income groups, elderly patients above the age of 55 years, equally distributed between both genders; male and female and in patients from southern Maldives compared to central and northern Maldives. In addition, severe visual impairment was observed in patients with chronicity of the disease for more than five years. Significant correlation was found between visual acuity and the location of lesion, type of scar and having an underlying comorbidity such as diabetes.

Background: This study investigates the determinants of quality of life (QoL) among older adults residing in institutional settings in Bangladesh. Methods: Utilizing a cross-sectional design, data were collected from 570 elderly participants across four institutional care facilities. Sociodemographic, physical health, dietary habits and comorbidity determinants were analyzed to determine their effect on QoL, measured through the OPQOL-35 scale. Results: The findings indicated a strong association between lower QoL and age above 75 years, illiteracy, lower income, and absence of elderly allowances. Physical health and dietary habits like sleep, water, fruit intake with chronic diseases including skin disease, visual impairment, and arthritis were found to contribute heavily to poor QoL. Multivariate logistic regression indicated that the elderly above the age of 75 years were 5.14 times more likely to report poor QoL, and individuals with visual disorder were 2.72 times more likely to experience poor well-being. These findings identify the multifactorial determinants of the socioeconomic, health, dietary and comorbidity variables influencing institutionalized elderly QoL, indicating the necessity for specific interventions to improve QoL among the elderly population. Conclusion: The research indicates that enhancing financial assistance, access to healthcare, and reducing gender inequality could positively contribute to the QoL of the elderly populations living at old homes in Bangladesh and similar low-resource countries.

Cataract is a major cause of visual impairment worldwide, and its prevalence is increased in individuals with diabetes mellitus. Aldose reductase (AR), a key enzyme in the polyol pathway, and oxidative stress have been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic cataract.

The purpose of this paper is to study the learning challenges of visually impaired people under inclusive education of mathematics within the framework of women’s university teacher education program. The paper embodies a qualitative article since it was conducted using interviews. More often, data were collected through interviews with four students with visual impairments and the teacher of mathematics. The paper describes the students’ personal experiences of barriers in the field of academic, social, and emotional nature within the framework of mathematics. Moreover, the measures they use to solve these problems, such as Braille, tactile diagrams, and assistive technologies, are elucidated. Further, the paper can be used for the systematization of knowledge in this area. The teacher’s personal experience of these problems is also given. Moreover, I identified the problematic places in the lessons of mathematics for the teacher who taught the students with visual impairments and offered him solutions. The paper shows that inclusive education is good because students learn from it social adaptation, independent and productive learning. They also respond relatively well to learning-related problems. At the same time, inclusivity has some obstacles: difficulty accessing the existing materials, teacher experience, and the need for specialized teaching methods. Furthermore, the paper offers practical solutions to improve the learning experience of visually impaired students and is essential to policy makers, school managers, and educators striving to uphold inclusivity and support for visually impaired students.

Older adults make up the largest proportion of nonusers of the internet. With the increasing digitalization of services, it is important to identify what interventions are effective at reducing digital exclusion in older adults. We aimed to identify what evidence exists on the effectiveness of interventions to address digital exclusion in older adults. This rapid review assessed the effectiveness of interventions to address digital exclusion in older adults aged 60 years or older. Searches were conducted in November 2023 across a range of databases and used supplementary search methods. Searches were limited to comparative studies published from 2018 onward in English. Data were analyzed using a narrative synthesis approach. A total of 21 studies were included that aimed to increase a range of digital literacy skills. Sample sizes ranged from 5 to 381. Intervention approaches varied considerably and were often multicomponent and undertaken in a variety of settings. There is evidence to suggest that a range of interventions can reduce physical, personal, and perceptual barriers and improve older adults' skills, knowledge, digital literacy, and perceived self-efficacy, reduce technophobia, and increase use of technology. Importantly, findings indicated improvements among a range of subpopulations, including those living in rural areas, at risk of social isolation, who are homebound, of lower socioeconomic groups, and individuals with visual impairment. To achieve improved and sustained digital inclusion in older adults, evidence suggests it may be important to ensure structural barriers, such as access to the internet and affordability of devices, are removed. However, all studies contained methodological limitations and may not be adequately powered to determine effectiveness. The evidence shows the potential benefits of interventions aimed at improving a range of digital skills and increasing technology use in older adults, which could help to address digital exclusion. The findings of this rapid review can inform the development and delivery of future interventions. However, it is important to consider the context in which the included interventions were used and the lack of certainty of the findings. This review also identified a lack of high-quality evidence, as all studies identified contained methodological limitations and may not have been adequately powered to determine effectiveness. In addition, consideration should also be given to those who do not wish to engage with the online world to ensure they are not left behind.

Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is a mitochondrial disorder that causes visual impairment due to the degeneration of retinal ganglion cells. Oxidative stress (OS) and inflammatory cytokines have been implicated in its pathophysiology. We investigated, for the first time, the presence of OS biomarkers and inflammatory cytokines in the aqueous humor and peripheral blood of LHON patients compared to controls, aiming to identify potential clinical biomarkers for diagnosis and disease monitoring. A total of 38 participants were enrolled in a single-center, retrospective observational study, including 17 genetically confirmed LHON patients from different Spanish regions and 21 controls. OS biomarkers and inflammatory cytokines were quantified using spectrophotometry and fluorimetry techniques. Statistical analyses were performed to compare groups and to assess the discriminatory performance of biomarkers in identifying affected individuals. Compared to controls, LHON patients exhibited significantly higher levels of AOPP, LOOH, nitrotyrosine, GPX, GRD, and OX/AntiOX ratio in both aqueous humor and serum. Among these, serum LOOH levels and the OX/AntiOX ratio were the most reliable for identifying patients affected, with high sensitivity and specificity. However, additional data on serum IL-1ra are required to confirm its potential as an effective classifier. These findings highlight novel candidate biomarkers for the diagnosis and monitoring of LHON progression.

On 14 August 2024, the WHO redesignated Monkeypox (mpox) as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Ocular disease is under-recognised and can cause irreversible vision loss. Clarifying its burden, clade-specific patterns and HIV-related risks is essential for clinical care and public health. We conducted an umbrella review and meta-analysis, systematically searching PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library from inception to September 2025. Eligible studies were systematic reviews reporting ophthalmic manifestations in laboratory-confirmed mpox cases, stratified by viral clades I, II and IIb. Pooled proportions were estimated using random-effects meta-analysis, with clade-stratified subgroup analyses. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD420251137180). Five systematic reviews (36 primary studies; 28 139 patients) were included. The pooled proportion of conjunctivitis was 8.9% (95% CI 4.8 to 13.9), highest in clade I (21.9%) and lowest in clade IIb (2.7%). Keratitis (1.5%), eyelid lesions (3.3%), conjunctival lesions (8.4%) and corneal ulceration (3.3%) varied by clade. Visual impairment occurred in 4.5% overall; unilateral (0.9%) and bilateral (0.4%) blindness were reported only with clade I. Across reviews, people living with advanced HIV experienced disproportionately higher rates of severe and persistent ocular complications than HIV-negative individuals. Mpox-related ophthalmic disease can cause substantial-and potentially preventable-visual disability. Clade I infection is associated with a greater burden of ocular complications than clade II-particularly IIb. Improved access to eye health services, early recognition and integration of HIV and mpox care are critical to reducing vision loss, especially in resource-limited settings.