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Patrick Campbell is the managing editor of HCPLive. Formerly the editorial lead of Endocrinology Network, Practical Cardiology, and Rheumatology Network, Patrick has spent years spearheading coverage surrounding cardiometabolic health and rheumatic disease for MJH Life Sciences. He now helps to lead coverage in each of these respective areas for HCPLive. Before joining MJH Life Sciences in 2019, he spent time as a beat reporter with the Pocono Record in Stroudsburg, PA, and Star News Group in Manasquan, NJ. He also touts experience in multimedia, having spent time as a multimedia specialist with NJ Advance Media and multimedia coordinator at the Pocono Record. Follow him on Twitter @RealPatCampbell or reach him via email at PCampbell@mjhlifesciences.com.

Articles

An analysis of more than 500,000 pregnancies over a 15-year period suggests much of the increase in gestational diabetes rates observed during the study period can be attributed to changes in screening practices. 

Rising Gestational Diabetes Rates Could Be Result of Changes in Screening Practices

A small molecule IL-17A inhibitor, izokibep has additionally shown efficacy in treating psoriatic arthritis—and will now be reviewed in a phase 3 HS trial.

Izokibep Potentially Clears Hidradenitis Suppurativa Lesions at 12 Weeks

Pediatric dermatologist Mercedes Gonzalez, MD, discusses the new phase 3 B-SIMPLE data supporting berdazimer gel as the first potential molluscum treatment.

Berdazimer Gel Provides Complete Molluscum Clearance in 30% of Patients in 12 Weeks

Tim Smith joined the MJH Life Sciences team as an assistant editor for HCPLive in August 2022. He graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in political science, working in multimedia journalism as a staff writer prior to joining MJH. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, watching TV, listening to podcasts, and rock climbing. You can contact him at 

Kwatra spoke about his team’s research into nemolizumab for prurigo nodularis in the OLYMPIA 2 trial, including the data and its implications for the future.

Shawn Kwatra, MD: Trial Data for Nemolizumab Monotherapy on Prurigo Nodularis

The ophthalmology condition center is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and expert insights on ophthalmology. Read more at HCPLive.


Ophthalmology | Medical News & Expert Insight | HCPLive

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clinical page is a resource for content on every specialty, disease, and topic available on our medical news site.

Clinical Topics

GEN-22-MDD0531 - /clinical/ophthalmology

Ophthalmology page, resources on the topics of medical news and expert insight into ophthalmic disease can be found. Content includes articles, interviews, videos, podcasts, and breaking news on eye disease research, treatment, and drug development.

Gene therapy research and development has been progressing the field of genetic disease by striving to provide an effective therapeutic approach to correcting the genes involved with specific conditions. 

The mission of biotech company Odylia Therapeutics is to bring therapeutics to patients with 

, regardless of prevalence or commercial opportunity. 

Odylia is a nonprofit organization, setting it apart from traditional biotech and pharmaceutical companies. President and CSO, Ashley Winslow, PhD, explained that while the science and research functions the same way, the fundraising efforts are different and the organiztion utilizes its profits as an investment for furthering its mission.

“We are very focused, as a nonprofit, on the treatments we're trying to develop, or how we're helping other groups, so everything comes back to the mission,” she said.

The organization's current gene therapy pipeline is focused on 2 rare ocular diseases, according to Winslow. In this interview with 

, she spoke about the genes each program is working with to address Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) and Usher syndrome.

The transparent practices of a nonprofit like Odylia has opportunities that industry companies may not.

“I really love that aspect of my job,” Winslow said, “because having worked in industry before, you don't get the opportunity to talk every day about what you do. As a nonprofit, we have to talk about it. It's not only inspiring, it's easy to get up every day and do what we do.”

Education and awaress are escpecially critical when working with rare diseases. 

“We have to speak to it in order to really attract people to our mission,” she said. “And that's what we're trying to do through fundraising efforts is speak to what we've accomplished, what we're seeking to accomplish, where we are pushing boundaries.”

President and CSO of Odylia Therapeutics discusses the gene therapy pipeline, research and differences in operating as a nonprofit biotech company. 

Nonprofit Research on Gene Therapy for Rare Ocular Diseases

 drug faricimab (Vabysmo) has already made waves by being the first of its drug class to be approved for both diabetic macular edema (DME) and neovascular age-related degeneration (nAMD).

A new phase 4 clinical trial from Genentech seeks to expand on the efficacy of the drug in patients with DME from underrepresented populations.

The efficacy and safety of faricimab will be assessed in patients from African American, Hispanic, Latin American, and Indigenous communities throughout the 

, which Matthew Cunningham, MD, of the Florida Retina Institute, believes to be the first industry-sponsored assessment regarding representation in DME trials.

For this episode of DocTalk, Cunningham sits down with managing editor Kevin Kunzmann to speak to the issue of representation in DME and other ophthalmology trials, and how DME disproportionately affects underrepresented populations.

Furthermore, Cunningham details the burdens that patients from underrepresented communities face with trial inclusion standards.

“I hope that we learn more than just the results of how (faricimab) works for diabetic macular edema in underrepresented populations,” Cunningham said. “I hope that we, as a whole learn how to recruit more effectively underrepresented populations so that going forward, we don't have to specifically create a study addressing one specific population but we can then use the things that we've learned from this trial to help with our going forward in future trials.”

The Elevatum trial will assess the newly approved ophthalmic drug in patients from African American, Hispanic, Latin American, and Indigenous communities.

Evaluating the Efficacy of Faricimab in Patients with DME from Underrepresented Communities 

US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Port Delivery System (PDS) with anti-VEGF therapy ranibizumab

 for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) last month, a decision which introduced a novel ophthalmic treatment delivery product to the US and capped off a 2-decade research venture into PDS.

The historic approval granted to Roche could implicate long-term benefits in treatment adherence and efficacy—and therefore, retention of vision and quality of life—in the burdened retina disease patient population. The permanent eye implant is designed to provide patients a continuous administration of formulary anti-VEGF therapy—the gold standard for AMD treatment—through a vitreous cavity that does not require intravenous injections, nor refills for months at a time.

The late-October timing of the approval could not be more apt, as clinicians gathered to highlight and review PDS-relevant data at the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) 2021 Meeting and American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) 2021 Meeting shortly prior to and after the FDA decision, respectively. Many ophthalmologists talked with 

 on the promising implication of PDS, as well as the anticipated early hurdles of application and monitoring in patients.

But one expert was able to speak fully to the long-term history and future potential of the novel product.

Carl Regillo, MD, Director of Retina Service at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, joined DocTalk to discuss ranibizumab PDS, his experiences with port delivery research that spans 15 years, what the application of the new anti-VEGF delivery method could mean for wet AMD, and where he thinks PDS may also serve ophthalmologists.

The Director of Retina Services at Wills Eye Hospital joins to discuss the historic FDA approval granted for a novel method of ophthalmic care: a permanent implant that allows for vision-saving formula therapy to treat the eye continually.

Port Delivery System 101 with Carl Regillo, MD

Patient with Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis (LCA)—a 

 inherited eye disorder that primarily affects the retina—have few to no treatment options, and the condition itself can certainly be burdensome for patient and families.

The most common symptoms associated with the recessive genetic disorder is severe visual impairment and blindness. Patients may also experience photophobia, strabismus, enophthalmos, and extreme farsightedness among other ocular symptoms.

According to the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), “at least 27 genes are implicated” in the monogenic disease. The most common form of the disease is LCA 10, caused by mutations in the CEP290 gene. 

features Stephen Russell, MD, of the Institute for Vision Research at the University of Iowa. He discussed recent data presented at this year’s annual 

Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO

) meeting that support the therapeutic potential of investigational oligonucleotide sepofarsen for LCA 10.

Russel further explained the causes behind LCA and LCA 10, the quality of life in affected patients, current screening practices, as well as trajectories in research for this domain.

He offered insight into treatment strategies for these patients and reflected on the future of care for those living with LCA 10 and other mutations.

Listen to The Rare Disease Report on your favorite podcast platforms, including 

Stephen Russell, MD, talks about promising new data that has the potential to provide a breakthrough for treating the most common mutation of the rare genetic eye disease.

The Rare Disease Report Podcast: Leber's Congenital Amaurosis 

Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 2021 Virtual Meeting

 this week showed investigative gene therapy AGTC-501 provided notable efficacy and safety mark benefit in patients with 

The six-moth findings, presented by author Paul Yang, MD, PhD, of the Casey Eye Institute at Oregon Health & Science University, lead to hope for even greater and more concrete outcomes as the agent is assessed through 5 years in the patients aged ≥6 years old with the rare vision loss disease.

In a DocTalk podcast interview conducted during ARVO 2021, Yang joined to discuss the newest phase 1/2 findings, as well as the properties of benefit being assessed in AGTC-501.

Yang also explained the reason for expansive gene therapy research in XLRP, the role of advocacy and awareness-building in gene therapy research for rare disease, and what he would define as the modern ocular gene therapy care team.

Six Month Findings from a Phase 1/2 Clinical Study of Subretinal Gene Therapy Drug AGTC-501 for X-Linked Retinitis Pigmentosa Show Clinically Meaningful Improvement in Macular Sensitivity

Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology

A podcast interview with study author Paul Yang, MD, PhD, on the current research and future implementation of the agent.

Gene Therapy AGTC-501 Hits Phase 1/2 Marks for Rare Pediatric Blindness

The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) 2020 Conference begins this weekend. Ophthalmologists from all over the world will connect digitally to present research, exchange ideas, and share experiences. The agenda boasts robust offerings of scientific posters, live sessions, symposiums, and lectures. Topics ranging from glaucoma, to age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and even emerging AIs, among others, will be covered.

The packed agenda only proves that ophthalmologists are eager to engage with their peers and immerse themselves in the buzz around their specialty. This weekend, 

® will be covering the latest news coming out of AAO — coverage will feature late-breaking research as well as interviews with presenting doctors. 

To help kick off the busy weekend, Edmund Tsui, MD, a uveitis specialist at UCLA and social media editor for the AAO Journal, joined 

 for a discussion about what to expect in AAO 2020 as well as the significance of the virtual platform. He talked about a few of the studies that have caught his interest and how he plans to engage with the on-demand and live content. 

American Academy of Ophthalmology

Edmund Tsui, MD, talks the new AAO 2020 virtual format as well as presentations that have particularly caught his attention.

Edmund Tsui, MD: A Discussion on AAO 2020 Virtual

 (Wet AMD) begins in the dry form of AMD, it remains difficult, if not impossible to diagnose the disease in patients younger than 50.

However, researchers are hoping to improve screening and diagnostic markers in the next few years, as it is becoming increasingly important to get a handle on the disease earlier with the population in the US aging.

There has also been big advancements made in terms of treating Wet AMD with the advent of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) injections in 2006 to treat various ophthalmological disorders. This medication class has shown success in helping patients retain vision or recover vision loss.

, Joshua Mali, MD, a board certified ophthalmologists at the Eye Associates in Bradenton, Florida, talks about some of the concern regarding wet AMD and why there is hope for new treatments and better screening outcomes in this patient population.

Mali said in the interview that wet AMD is the most common disorder seen at his practice. While there are some known risk factors, including age, family history, smoking history, and obesity, Mali said if clinicians are able to screen patients earlier and earlier it could have a major impact in this patient population.

Dr. Mali talks about advancements in treatment and screening for Wet AMD.

Joshua Mali, MD: Hope for Patients with Wet AMD

American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) 2020 Virtual Sessions

 this weekend, phase 1/2 data from a novel assessment of investigative gene therapy AAV-RGPR showed early safety and tolerability among patients with X-linked retinitis pigmentosa (XLRP).

The findings, from a team of Janssen and Meira GTx investigators, could have significant implications for the XLRP treatment field. Currently, no drugs are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the  disease which causes debilitating vision in boys and young men.

Additionally, the new findings add fodder to the greater discussion of gene therapy in 

In alignment with the new ASRS 2020 data, AAV-RGPR primary investigator Michel Michaelides, MD, joined DocTalk for a discussion on the early trial findings, the burden of disease among patients with XLRP, and what promises are held for gene therapy in ophthalmology.

American Society of Retina Specialists

New phase 1/2 data shows AAV-RGPR may benefit a previously untreated population of inherited retina disease boys and young men.

Gene Therapy Shows Early Potential in XLRP

Two decades ago, it would have been hard to imagine an ophthalmologist taking part in a session on social media best practices at a conference or annual meeting, but the rapid integration of social media into everyday lives of patients and physicians has made this a reality.

American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) 2019 Annual Meeting in San Francisco

, close to 2 dozen presentations centered around social media—including a discussion led by the social media editors of the Ophthalmology, the official AAO journal.

A position created just a year and a half ago, the role is filled by 4 ophthalmologists who have been tasked with improving the journal’s social media presence and platform. While their efforts have contributed to optimizing the brand and increasing the reach of the Academy’s subspecialty journals, many ophthalmologists do not involve themselves in social media or simply do not how. &#8232;&#8232;

For more on how ophthalmologists can use social media effectively to benefit themselves and their practice, 

sat down with Edmond Tsui, MD, a uveitis specialist at UCLA and social media editor for the AAO, to get his takes on best practices in social media.

Hello and welcome to this special edition of the DocTalk podcast from the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting in San Francisco. Today, I'm joined by Dr. Tsui, of UCLA who also has a very unique role with the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Dr. Tsui, if you wouldn't mind introducing yourself to our listeners and then we can dive into our discussion.

Great. Thank you, Pat. I really appreciate the opportunity to be here today to chat about social media and you know, the academy and how our roles of social media editors have helped advance the efforts of the journal. So, my name is Edmund Tsui. I'm an ophthalmologist and uveitis specialist at the Stein Eye Institute at UCLA.

We began our efforts with the social media editors about a year and a half ago in 2018. There are 4 social media editors as part of the Academy's journals Ophthalmology, Ophthalmology Glaucoma, and Ophthalmology Retina. Each one of us distributes certain articles during the week, create tweets, and then in turn, the journal will schedule the tweets for each subspecialty as well too. So, as a result of the social media team's effort, the journal is seeing significant growth in terms of followers readership, and sharing of their research as well, too.

So, we're all really excited to be part of the social media efforts for the Academy, and especially for the journal especially, this is our Academy’s—our field’s&mdash;premier journal. So, we're all very lucky to be part of this team.

The advent of social media is something that is relatively new, especially for a lot of clinicians who have been practicing for decades and decades. Apart from the research side, like you just touched on what are some of the advantages of social media available to physicians that they simply did not have access to 10 to 15 years ago?

Yeah, that's a great question. And of course, you know, technology has changed dramatically over the past few decades. And social media has a multitude of advantages, offers ophthalmologists and new avenues Engage with audiences in an unprecedented manner allowing for communication basically on a global scale. It's allowed us to increase one's online presence. It helps us meet and engage with our colleagues inside and outside of our specialty. It also helps increase you know, your practices exposure or your institutions exposure, and it helps ophthalmologists or other physicians stay informed with current events helps us disseminate like you said, Our research advances can also help us participate in health policy as well as fundraising initiatives.

All right. And now, I think that begs the question, if a clinician isn't using social media, are they automatically doing themselves a disservice?

I don't necessarily think they're doing themselves with the service. But if you think about it, a lot of patients nowadays are going online to Google their physician. They may come across Dr. A and Dr. B. If they see that Dr. A has a significant online presence such as a Facebook, Yelp, Twitter, Instagram—you know, a professional presence&mdash;they may be more geared towards being a patient of Dr. A as opposed to Dr. B's who may have not have such a prominent online presence. That being said, some may still be connecting with patients in traditional means with the print communication as well as flyers. So there's something to be said as well, too, because not all patients will be using social media.

What are some of the common mistakes that you see?

So, that's a really good question. I think with regards to using social media, there are no strict guidelines in terms of how to be efficient or how to really communicate with your audience. You have to kind of think about who your audience is, is it going to be the general public? Is it going to be a scientist in your field? other ophthalmologists? But I think in general, for your professional accounts, you should always use your real name, your real credentials with an actual photograph that identifies you as an ophthalmologist, because these are all public facing accounts. It should be treated as though everyone can see these images.

I think a common mistake is maybe not creating a consistent image across all platforms. For example, if you're using Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn, you should be using the same profile picture and the same description so that there's a consistent public-facing image.

So, when patients or other doctors are looking up online, they will be faced with the same doctor that they see and then, of course, there are critical things to be following on social media and these include always being aware of HIPAA—patient privacy always comes first and if you're not sure you should be posting something you should think twice and probably not post that. I see a lot of medical practitioners outside of ophthalmology and inside ophthalmology, posting clinical cases. These should be de-identified, patient consent should be obtained, and you should definitely make sure that these are not identifiable.

You should also think twice before often medical advice on a public forum—what's online is going to be out there permanently. Certain things, with regards to medical advice, should be kept on a private level as well. As you know, these are patients that you may not have seen before, just not your patients and you can identify them as such online. Lastly, I think, you know, as professionals with online social media presence, we should avoid in engaging discussions about controversial topics or getting in heated discussions with other physicians or public online because, you know, these are on public record and for everyone to see

What are some of the most prominent reasons you see why physicians may decide to decline in social media or decline engaging in social media?

Yeah, I think that's a great question because, you know, starting on social media is a you know, some for some can be a daunting task. There are a lot of different platforms out there. When I first started, I was questioning should I start in Twitter, Instagram, should I make other Facebook professional accounts. I think one of the biggest challenges may be selecting which one is appropriate and obviously you can pick which platform may be most appropriate for your audience.

Twitter has been used traditionally by a lot of scientists to discuss research. Instagram is obviously an image-based platform. So, visually striking images are posted there. If you have a more kind of image-heavy practice or field, that may be more ideal for you. Even sometimes something such as simple as creating a username can be very daunting. So, I think for those of us starting out in social media, just creating a username with your first name, last name, and then your degree can be the easiest way to get started on social media.

Other questions I've come across are: What can I post? How can I get started? What can my first post be and who should I follow? You know, you should post things that are consistent with your brand. You know your professional presence online, a lot of people do posts research articles,. they post health information from official sources such as the NEI or the Academy's Eye Smart Twitter accounts. You can post a multitude of things, as long as you have a consistent presence online and a consistent image, then that will help develop your brand.

All right, and now, before I let you go, is there anything you wanted to touch on or speak about that I might not have asked you that you felt was important.

So as a social media editor for the ophthalmology journal, I think this has been a fantastic opportunity to help spread the research for the ophthalmology journals. I think a lot of other journals are following suit or they've already started having social media editors as well, too. I think, in general, a lot of medical journals should have social media editors. As the younger population continues to grow, that means our future older population will be using social media as well too. I think this will help disseminate the journals, research findings as well as increased the reach to a further worldwide audience.

All right, that was about it and my questions. Thank you for joining us on the DocTalk podcast today.

Thank you, Pat. I really appreciate the opportunity. Thank you.

That's it for this edition of the DocTalk podcast. For the latest from the American Academy Ophthalmology annual meeting, be sure to head to MDmag.com. Thank you for listening.

Edmund Tsui, MD, social media editor for Ophthalmology, discusses some of the common pitfalls and advantages in the manner some physicians and clinicians navigate social media on this episode of the DocTalk Podcast. 

DocTalk Podcast: Using Social Media as a Physician at AAO 2019

A systematic review and meta-analysis of 27 studies reveal the prevalence of DR in pediatric T2D increased significantly more than 5 years after diagnosis.

Risk of Diabetic Retinopathy Increases Over Time in Children with T2D 

Perfluorohexyloctane eye drops demonstrated significantly superior improvements in tCFS and eye dryness scores at day 57 compared with saline. 