Ophthalmology

Telemedicine screenings provided by a primary care office in an urbanized setting over 2 years showed patients had an 81.9% compliance capture rate—a significant improvement from previous studies in the same field.

The number of anti-VEGF injections patients underwent per 28 days decreased from 0.322 to 0.047 after FAc implantation.

The director of the Section of Uveitis and Vasculitis at Emory University spoke about the potential of this novel delivery method in conditions such as uveitis and retinal vein occlusion.

Researchers found testing is significantly more practiced by patients offered it in person, versus those referred, with little difference found in mutation identification.

Though cell therapies have gained FDA approval to treat any ocular disease, companies have marketed predominately to patients with AMD, with procedures that could lead to blindness.

Though the 2 dosing regimens had comparable visual acuity improvements over 24 months, patients given ranibizumab once-monthly received treatment nearly 6 more times on average.

The treatment, traditionally used for cancer, not only improved BVCA measurements but also resulted in the number of injections patients needed.

At the final follow-up in year 5, 16.5% of eyes had lost >15 ETDRS letters, compared to 33% that had gained >15 ETDRS letters.

Researchers found that, contrary to popular opinion, about 80% of patients are receiving at least 7 dosing regimens of anti-VEGF in their first year of treatment, and that frequency has been proven to improve visual acuity.

The analysis suggests that patients with neovascular AMD may be undertreated in clinical practice settings.

The first meta-analysis of AMD clinical meta-analyses shows many have methodological limitations—more so those sponsored by industry than those sponsored by governments.

Emixustat has been shown in previous preclinical analysis to slow the visual cycle and inhibit the activity of RPE65 and associated loss of photoreceptors associated with RPE dysfunction.

To the knowledge of researchers, this is the first demonstration to show C3a can stimulate basal deposit production by normal human RPE cells.

Utilizing research from the Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2, researchers found that MA and GA may be part of the same disease process affecting the visual acuity of patients with AMD.

These regimens can also ensure the maintenance of visual acuity levels that can keep patients self-sufficient in real-world scenarios, such as driving, reading, and recognizing faces.

In an invited commentary, a trio of authors called the concept of improving or protecting visual function as a viable intervention to prevent or control cognitive decline overall both “plausible and attractive.”

Takami Sato, MD, PhD, Department of Medical Oncology, Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University, discusses new treatment for metastatic uveal melanoma: IMCgp100.

The device offers a new treatment option for surgeons managing glaucoma patients’ intraocular pressure.

The first patient has been enrolled in a pivotal phase 3 clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of an epithelium-on (epi-on) corneal collagen cross-linking procedure to treat progressive keratoconus.

Evidence determines that those receiving treatment for nAMD should delay cataract surgery within 6 months of starting treatment, if possible.

Despite having worse vision and more CST than participants without baseline MNP upon entering the trials, patients experienced increased visual acuity along with improvements in anatomy.

Importantly, they are not directed toward ophthalmologists, but at general physicians and public healthcare professionals.

The next generation platform measures the eye inside and out to enable highly precise custom laser vision correction.

The findings present the first assessment of peripheral changes in AMD and time to dark-adapt and could establish DA as a promising functional outcome measure in AMD.

It is the first approval of a product for this indication and is now available on Optovue’s Avanti Widefield optical coherence tomography system.