Retina

Urgent vitrectomy/phacovitrectomy to treat retinal detachment will produce the best postoperative visual acuity when it is conducted within 2 days or less of the detachment, according to a recent study.

During a press briefing held at the 4th COPHy congress in Budapest, Hungary, key opinion leaders discussed VMT and macular holes and how a new injectable drug could benefit patients. In this article, we will present the highlights of this meeting.

A new agent aimed at treating symptomatic vitreomacular adhesion may lead to variable outcomes based on several pre-treatment patient characteristics.

Treatment of diabetic macular oedema (DME) with ranibizumab may improve retinal function and structure, according to researchers from the National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital and University College, London Institute of Ophthalmology.

According to Prof. Lois, peeling the internal limiting membrane when operating on patients with idiopathic full-thickness macular hole improves the outcomes of surgery. This article reviews her recent review study and highlights the outcomes.

The membranes found on the retinal surface can cause visual symptoms in various conditions and a patient's vision can often be improved with surgical removal of these membranes, according to Mr Mahmut Dogramaci (The Lister Surgicentre, Lister Hospital, Stevenage, UK).

Ultra-widefield fluorescein angiography may help improve treatment in patients with recalcitrant diabetic macular oedema by visualizing areas of peripheral nonperfusion that can benefit from targeted photocoagulation.

This article discusses the prognostic factors and options in the surgical management of rhegmatogenous retinal detachments associated with macular holes.

According to this article, not all patients may benefit from routine testing prior to surgery. A better option may be selective screening for those at greatest risk for adverse systemic events.

A research initiative to develop new techniques for early detection of diabetic retinopathy (DR) is currently under way at the University of Lincoln, UK.

Retinal injury following childhood exposure to laser 'toys' is a public safety concern, according to the first case series of such injuries, which has recently been published.

The Home Monitoring of the Eye (HOME) study, conducted in AREDS2 clinical centres, has demonstrated that patients at high-risk of developing choroidal neovascularization (CNV) - the neovascular or wet phase of AMD - benefit from using the ForeseeHome monitoring device (Notal Vision).

According to recently published data, anti-VEGF therapy is superior to laser photocoagulation for the treatment of moderate-to-severe visual impairment caused by diabetic macular oedema (DME).

Roche has announced additional encouraging results of a phase II study with lampalizumab to treat patients with geographic atrophy (GA). The MAHALO study data was presented during the Retina subspeciality day at AAO 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

2013 has been an important year in retina therapy, with increased information released on nutritional supplements for AMD patients, widened indications for anti-VEGFs and the approval of treatment for symptomatic vitreomacular adhesion.

Patients who receive intravitreal ranibizumab for treatment of diabetic macular oedema over a 3-year period achieved rapid improvements in vision and oedema.

In this article, the authors review the various corticosteroid options and attempt to determine their place in the therapeutic regimen.

Ophthalmologists from 76 countries discussed the latest findings in diagnostics and therapy, and also issues of promoting the next generation of young ophthalmologists.

Progranulin, a protein found in fat-derived stem cells, may reverse and perhaps prevent age-related, light-induced retinal damage, according to results from a study done in a mouse model by researchers from Gifu Pharmaceutical University and Gifu University, Japan.

One in three young Danish patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus progressed to proliferative diabetic retinopathy, and two in three had 2-step progression despite their young age, according to study results recently published in the November 2013 issue of Acta Diabetologica. In addition, these researchers from Denmark found that after 30-years? duration of diabetes, the presence of diabetic retinopathy was almost universal.

Oral pazopanib - in a dose of 15 mg/d - is well tolerated and may improve mean best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central retinal lesion thickness and central retinal thickness in as little as 1 month of treatment in some patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to recent study results.

In this article, Dr Vinekar describes the Karnataka Internet Assisted Diagnosis of Retinopathy of Prematurity (KIDROP) programme and how this is changing the landscape of eye screening in India.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended ocriplasmin (Jetrea) as a clinically effective and cost-effective treatment option for patients suffering from vitreomacular traction, including that associated with macular hole of ? 400 ?m when an epiretinal membrane is absent, or adults with vitreomacular traction and severe symptoms, when an epiretinal membrane and macular hole are both absent.

Novartis has launched a fully interactive Facebook app, ?Retina App,? which simulates retinal disease by illustrating the user?s journey with a highly realistic view of the possible impact of vision loss on their daily lives.

Largest retrospective review of patients with vitreomacular adhesion (VMA) and vitreomacular traction (VMT) confirms that early treatment initiation may stop disease progression and lead to better visual function outcome.

KalVista Pharmaceuticals is joining a group of academic and industry researchers to undertake a project known as “Drug Discovery and Development of Novel Eye Therapeutics†(3D-NET).

In its final appraisal determination, the United Kingdom's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended funding for Iluvien for the treatment of pseudophakic eyes in chronic diabetic macular edema (DME) patients that are insufficiently responsive to available therapies.

Recurrent retinal detachments in children can develop months to years after the initial corrective surgery, making careful monitoring of patients imperative to identifying late re-detachments.

In this article, the authors discuss preventative efforts related to retinal diseases that are made by ophthalmologists to avoid infections and how mounting data seems to be pointing at the discontinuation of peri-injection topical antibiotic drops.

This article provides a brief overview of the outcomes of a webex meeting hosted by Novartis at SOE 2013 in Copenhagen, Denmark.