SPOTLIGHT -
Spotlight on GA: A bright future with potential treatments
Giving patients access to new treatments and information on changing their lifestyle habits could result in major steps towards minimising or even preventing geographic atrophy.
Causes of ocular inflammation linked to AAV gene therapy
Inflammation is par for the course in ocular gene therapy; preventing it should be the goal because once it develops, treatment can be difficult.
OVD bolus: Putting the eye to the grindstone
Use of a highly viscous cohesive ophthalmic viscosurgical device (OVD) enables removal of debris without excessive collateral irrigation trauma.
Selecting the right topical glaucoma therapy is important
Studies reveal the advantages of numerous new glaucoma treatments that offer a wider range of options for individual patients.
Identifying herpes simplex virus keratitis in keratoconus surgery patients
One clinician advises investigating prospective patients for history and evidence suggesting HSV keratitis, and monitoring for post-surgery epithelial defects.
How to juggle simultaneous treatments for dry eye, glaucoma
Gentle eye drops, laser or minimally invasive surgery, advising patients on safe viewing of electronic devices, and addressing eyelid disorders can all help to minimise adverse effects.
Systemic factors not predictive of VA outcomes following cataract surgery in patients with diabetic retinopathy
Investigators evaluated VA outcomes after cataract surgery and the factors associated with good visual outcomes in a population of patients with type 2 diabetes.
Robotic telepresence gain acceptance during ocular evaluations
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to greater comfort with robotic telepresence in eye screenings.
Eye drop that reaches posterior ocular tissues could protect retinal cells
Investigators report that a gel-forming sustained-delivery eye drop containing sunitinib can provide increased intraocular absorption of the drug while protecting retinal cells.
Effect of drusen and atrophy on automated segmentation in OCT images
Study images showed that large drusen compressed the inner macula and distorted the tissue architecture, and geographic atrophy resulted in posterior prolapse of the inner retinal layers.
AI and teleophthalmology appear comparable to in-person DR diagnoses
AI and teleophthalmology both show very high level of agreement with in-person evaluations, although further studies are needed to reduce the number of ungradable images.
Donations aid in global vision crisis on World Sight Day
The goal of World Sight Day, according to IAPB, is “to shine a light on blindness and vision impairment as a major, but solvable, public health issue."
What World Sight Day means to ophthalmologists and optometrists
Coordinated by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), the international day of awareness is a reminder to "love your eyes."
Scleral lens technology and keratoconus: A life-changing option for patients
Innovations in the design of rigid corneal lenses and scleral lenses have delayed the use of or eliminated the need for keratoplasty.
Ophthalmic evaluation recommended for young patients with brain tumours
Investigators advise an ophthalmologic evaluation at the time of tumour diagnosis to detect early vision loss.
Innovative technology for the hearing impaired makes use of visual cues
New visually-guided hearing aid uses eye gaze to focus amplification of sound signals from the direction of the user’s attention.
No negative effects in DMO patients reported following pandemic-imposed health care restrictions
The data analysis showed that the macular thickness decreased across all time periods and in all macular regions for all terciles.
Risk factors for developing rhegmatogenous retinal detachments in fellow eyes identified in study
Patients with a unilateral rhegmatogenous retinal detachment frequently ask about the risk of developing an RRD in their fellow eye.
Increased smoking-related ocular symptoms linked to cigarettes than electronic cigarettes
Those who used both traditional and electronic cigarettes reported severe to very severe ophthalmic symptoms.
Pooled TENAYA, LUCERNE Phase 3 data reports safety, efficacy, lower treatment burden with faricimab for nAMD
The AVONELLE-X long-term extension study will continue to evaluate the efficacy, durability and safety of faricimab in patients with neovascular AMD.
Retinal detachment rates following acute retinal necrosis are unaffected by early treatment with antivirals, vitrectomy
The results also showed that, compared to use of systemic antivirals alone, treatment with adjunctive intravitreal injections or early pars plana vitrectomy did not affect the time to development of retinal detachments.
Is the robot-assisted procedure the future of MIGS?
Robot-assisted surgical precision offers less than 5-µm precision tremor stabilization, 1 to 10-mN force-sensing smart instrumentation and automated procedure-specific guidance and assistance with analytics.
Comparing dry eye disease in adult and paediatric populations via the IRIS Registry
Almost 5 million patients in the IRIS Registry had received at least one diagnosis of DED between 2013 and 2019; of those, 203,171 were children under 18 years of age and 4,592,808 were adults.
Higher incidence of new strabismus in paediatric patients following tube shunt surgery
13% of pediatric patients had new-onset strabismus after a tube shunt procedure; in contrast, 0% of adults had new-onset strabismus after tube shunt surgery (at 6 months or at last follow-up).
Poor post-pandemic follow-up care in glaucoma patients prompts concern
Following the lockdown due to COVID-19, investigators highlight the need to re-assess policies on patient follow-up and establish new approaches to provision of care for elderly patients.
Genetic testing for keratoconus facilitates earlier recognition of condition
According to one study, when genetic testing is coupled with advanced imaging, the chances of identifying keratoconus early are greater.
Circumnavigating the bumpy road to vernal keratoconjunctivitis: Time is key
Ophthalmologists should look past the eyes in patients presenting with a persistent ocular allergic response and be mindful that sight-threatening vernal keratoconjunctivitis is a possibility.
Monkeypox may be linked with conjunctivitis
Spanish investigators hypothesise that conjunctivitis plays a role in disease transmission.
New insights into macular carotenoid accumulation and transport
Recent identification of the BCO2 gene and the Aster-B transport protein gives insight into carotenoid distribution in the retina.
Music creates soothing effect for babies during retinopathy of prematurity examinations
The white noise and classical music listened to by the preterm infants during ROP examinations showed positive effects on pain and heart rate and oxygen saturation values.