Empowering Portable Age-Related Macular Degeneration Screening: Evaluation of a Deep Learning Algorithm for a Smartphone Fundus Camera.

OBJECTIVES: Despite global research on early detection of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), not enough is being done for large-scale screening. Automated analysis of retinal images captured via smartphone presents a potential solution; however, to our knowledge, such an artificial intelligence (AI) system has not been evaluated. The study aimed to assess the performance of an AI algorithm in detecting referable AMD on images captured on a portable fundus camera. DESIGN, SETTING: A retrospective image database from the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) and target device was used. PARTICIPANTS: The algorithm was trained on two distinct data sets with macula-centric images: initially on 108,251 images (55% referable AMD) from AREDS and then fine-tuned on 1108 images (33% referable AMD) captured on Asian eyes using the target device. The model was designed to indicate the presence of referable AMD (intermediate and advanced AMD). Following the first training step, the test set consisted of 909 images (49% referable AMD). For the fine-tuning step, the test set consisted of 238 (34% referable AMD) images. The reference standard for the AREDS data set was fundus image grading by the central reading centre, and for the target device, it was consensus image grading by specialists. OUTCOME MEASURES: Area under receiver operating curve (AUC), sensitivity and specificity of algorithm. RESULTS: Before fine-tuning, the deep learning (DL) algorithm exhibited a test set (from AREDS) sensitivity of 93.48% (95% CI: 90.8% to 95.6%), specificity of 82.33% (95% CI: 78.6% to 85.7%) and AUC of 0.965 (95% CI:0.95 to 0.98). After fine-tuning, the DL algorithm displayed a test set (from the target device) sensitivity of 91.25% (95% CI: 82.8% to 96.4%), specificity of 84.18% (95% CI: 77.5% to 89.5%) and AUC 0.947 (95% CI: 0.911 to 0.982). CONCLUSION: The DL algorithm shows promising results in detecting referable AMD from a portable smartphone-based imaging system. This approach can potentially bring effective and affordable AMD screening to underserved areas.

Macular neovascularization.

Neovascularization of the macula, a common complication of many chorioretinal diseases such as neovascular age-related macular degeneration, polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy, and pathologic myopia results from increased synthesis of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) by the retinal pigment epithelium and/or Müller cells because of localized ischemia and inflammation. The Consensus on Neovascular AMD Nomenclature (CONAN) study group acknowledged that these vessels may originate from either the choriocapillaris or the retinal microvasculature, prompting them to propose the term 'macular neovascularization' (MNV) to include intraretinal, subretinal, and sub-pigment epithelial neovascularization localized to the macula. MNV frequently appears as a grey-green macular lesion with overlying intraretinal thickening and/or subretinal exudation, causing metamorphopsia, reduced central vision, relative central scotoma, decreased reading speed, and problems with color recognition. Multimodal imaging with optical coherence tomography (OCT), OCT angiography, dye-based angiographies, fundus autofluorescence, and multiwavelength photography help establish the diagnosis and aid in selecting an appropriate treatment. The standard of care for MNV is usually intravitreal anti-VEGF injections, though thermal laser photocoagulation, verteporfin photodynamic therapy, and vitreoretinal surgery are occasionally used. This current review discusses the etiology and clinical features of MNV, the role of multimodal imaging in establishing the diagnosis, and the available therapeutic options.

Design and Validation of Endophthalmitis Infectivity Measurement Algorithm in Post Cataract Acute Endophthalmitis: EMS Report No. 6.

Purpose: We constructed a clinical clue-based algorithm to identify the microbiology-positive post-cataract surgery endophthalmitis. Methods: The Endophthalmitis Infectivity Measurement Algorithm (EIMA) was constructed using presenting Snellen vision (Letter score [LS]) and Inflammation Score (IS, from the cornea, anterior chamber, iris, and vitreous). Retrospective data (70% for training; 30% for testing) was fitted into CHAID (Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detection). EIMA was validated with prospective data. EIMA-categorized disease severity was weighed against the symptom duration to detect infecting micro-organisms. Results: EIMA was constructed from 1444 retrospective data. The average LS was 6.03 ± 12.11, median IS was 14 (8-24), and culture positivity was 38%. The accuracy and area under the curve of CHAID were 66.36% and 0.642, respectively. EIMA was validated with 175 prospectively collected data. Microbiology positivity (culture + sequencing) was 58.9%. EIMA sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy against microbiology-positive endophthalmitis were 73.7 (95% confidence interval [CI], 64.19-81.96), 81.9 (95% CI, 71.1-90.02), 77.1 (95% CI, 70.20-83.14), respectively. The positive and negative likelihood ratios were 4.08 (95% CI, 2.46-6.67) and 0.32 (95% CI, 0.22-0.45), respectively. There was higher microbial growth in two days or less than in three- to six-day symptom duration (69.9% vs. 28.2%; P = 0.018) endophthalmitis. Gram-negative infection was higher in two days or less (55.6% vs. 20.2%; P = 0.014), and gram-positive infection was higher in three- to six-day endophthalmitis (62.1% vs. 27.7%; P = 0.027). Conclusions: EIMA identified microbiology-positive endophthalmitis three-quarters of the time. Translational Relevance: EIMA suggested infectivity and the class of microbial infection could help targeted management of endophthalmitis after cataract surgery.

Evaluation of an AI algorithm trained on an ethnically diverse dataset to screen a previously unseen population for diabetic retinopathy.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine the generalizability of an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm trained on an ethnically diverse dataset to screen for referable diabetic retinopathy (RDR) in the Armenian population unseen during AI development. METHODS: This study comprised 550 patients with diabetes mellitus visiting the polyclinics of Armenia over 10 months requiring diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening. The Medios AI-DR algorithm was developed using a robust, diverse, ethnically balanced dataset with no inherent bias and deployed offline on a smartphone-based fundus camera. The algorithm here analyzed the retinal images captured using the target device for the presence of RDR (i.e., moderate non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) and/or clinically significant diabetic macular edema (CSDME) or more severe disease) and sight-threatening DR (STDR, i.e., severe NPDR and/or CSDME or more severe disease). The results compared the AI output to a consensus or majority image grading of three expert graders according to the International Clinical Diabetic Retinopathy severity scale. RESULTS: On 478 subjects included in the analysis, the algorithm achieved a high classification sensitivity of 95.30% (95% CI: 91.9%-98.7%) and a specificity of 83.89% (95% CI: 79.9%-87.9%) for the detection of RDR. The sensitivity for STDR detection was 100%. CONCLUSION: The study proved that Medios AI-DR algorithm yields good accuracy in screening for RDR in the Armenian population. In our literature search, this is the only smartphone-based, offline AI model validated in different populations.

Surgical approach to endophthalmitis: an overview.

Endophthalmitis is one of the most severe ocular emergencies faced by ophthalmologists worldwide. Without prompt treatment significant visual loss is inevitable. With increased understanding of the science of endophthalmitis, recent studies have shown a clear role of early and more definitive surgery to achieve better visual and anatomic outcomes. Surgery in endophthalmitis encompasses a whole gamut of interventions. There are diagnostic procedures like anterior chamber tap and vitreous biopsy or therapeutic procedures like complete pars plana vitrectomy and retinal detachment repair. Current literature is deficient on a detailed description of the spectrum of surgical interventions in endophthalmitis. In the current communication, we summarize the studies based on various surgical interventions in endophthalmitis. We also elaborate in detail on each surgical maneuver, taking the reader through the nuances of each surgery via an exhaustive description and appropriate photos and surgical video clips.

OUTCOME OF EYES TREATED FOR RETINOPATHY OF PREMATURITY IN POSTERIOR ZONE I: An Eastern India Study.

PURPOSE: To analyze the outcomes of eyes treated for retinopathy of prematurity in posterior Zone I. METHODS: In a part retrospective (9 years) and part prospective (1 year) interventional study, we analyzed eyes treated for retinopathy of prematurity in posterior Zone I with a minimum follow-up for 6 months. RESULTS: This study included 109 eyes of 56 infants; mean gestational age and birth weights were 29.3 (±2.1) weeks and 1112.5 (±381.9) g, respectively. The treatment included intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor as the initial treatment modality in 101 eyes (92.6%), either alone (27 eyes) or combined with laser or vitreous surgery (73 eyes). Laser was the initial treatment modality in eight eyes, either alone (n = 3) or in combination with surgery (n = 5). With anti-vascular endothelial growth factor alone, 30.68% (n = 27) eyes responded favorably, and the remaining 69.32% (n = 59) eyes needed retreatment (laser in the majority). At the final follow-up, 89.9% (out of 109) of eyes did well anatomically. Good outcome was significantly linked to no detachment at presentation ( P < 0.0001) and the presence of well-defined central vascular trunks ( P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Treating the eyes before retinal detachment with bevacizumab followed by laser (and surgery, if needed) results in a favorable outcome in babies with posterior Zone I retinopathy of prematurity.

Evaluating the utility of inflammation score in post-cataract surgery endophthalmitis. Results from a prospective study in India. EMS Report #4.

PURPOSE: To investigate if inflammation score (IS), calculated from the cornea, anterior chamber, iris, and vitreous, indicates endophthalmitis severity. METHODS: In a prospective study, consecutive adults with a clinical diagnosis of post-cataract endophthalmitis within 6 weeks of surgery were recruited. Patients were allocated to IS-based primary treatment (IS < 10: intravitreal injection and IS ≥ 10: vitrectomy) and randomized to two intravitreal antibiotics combinations (vancomycin + ceftazidime and vancomycin + imipenem). Undiluted vitreous microbiology work-up included culture susceptibility, polymerase chain reaction, Sanger sequencing, and targeted next-generation sequencing. RESULTS: The average age of 175 people was 63.4 ± 10.7 years and included 52.6% small incision cataract surgery and 47.4% phacoemulsification surgery. Severe endophthalmitis (IS ≥ 20), diagnosed in 27.4% of people, had a shorter time to symptoms (average 5.4 vs 8.7 days; P = 0.018), poorer presenting vision (all ≤ hand motion), higher culture positivity (50% vs 30.7%; P = 0.032), and higher Gram-negative bacterial infection (70.8% vs 46.2%; P = 0.042). For IS ≥ 20 discriminant and Gram-negative infection, Spearman's coefficient was 0.7 [P < 0.0001, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.59-0.82], with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.9 (95% CI 0.85-0.94, P < 0.0001), a Youden index J of 0.74, a sensitivity of 87.2%, and a specificity of 87.5%. The final vision of >20/400 and >20/100 was regained in 50.2% and 29.1% of people, respectively. The susceptibility of common Gram-positive cocci and Gram-negative bacilli was the highest for vancomycin (95.0%) and colistin (88.6%), respectively. NGS detected polymicrobial infection in 88.5% of culture-negative endophthalmitis. CONCLUSIONS: Higher inflammation scores indicated severe disease and Gram-negative infection in post-cataract endophthalmitis.

Consensus and controversies in the science of endophthalmitis management: Basic research and clinical perspectives.

Infectious endophthalmitis is a severe intraocular infection caused by bacteria, or less commonly by fungi. It can occur after penetrating eye procedures, trauma, or the spread of infection from contiguous structures or via emboli from distant organs. Because of the time-critical nature of the treatment, endophthalmitis is treated with the clinical diagnosis and modified by the microbiological report of the intraocular contents. The current strategy for managing endophthalmitis relies on pre-clinical literature, case series, and one large multi-center randomized clinical trial on post-cataract surgery endophthalmitis. Culture-susceptibility of the microorganisms from undiluted vitreous guides the definitive treatment in non-responsive cases. Strategies to reduce the incidence of endophthalmitis after penetrating eye procedures have been developed concurrently with refined means of treatment. Despite these advances, outcomes remain poor for many patients. Although consensus articles have been published on managing endophthalmitis, treatment patterns vary, and controversies remain. These include (1) the use of newer methods for early and precise microbiological diagnosis; (2) the choice of intravitreal antibiotics; (3) the need for systemic therapy; (4) early and complete vitrectomy. Here, we review the current consensus and address controversies in diagnosing and managing endophthalmitis. This review is intended to familiarize physicians and ophthalmologists with different aspects of endophthalmitis management to make informed decisions.

Prevalence and causes of visual impairment in Dongaria indigenous (tribal) community. Tribal Odisha eye disease study # 12.

Purpose: To document the spectrum and magnitude of eye disorders and visual impairment in the Dongaria-a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group in the Rayagada district of Odisha, India. Methods: A door-to-door screening protocol included a record of basic health parameters, visual acuity for distance, and near and flashlight examination of the eyes. Spectacles were dispensed to those who improved; those who failed the screening were referred to fixed (primary and secondary) eye care centers. Results: We examined 89% (n = 9872/11,085) of people who consented for screening. The mean age was 25.5 ± 18.8 years; 55% (n = 5391) were female; 13.8% (n = 1361) were under-five children, and 39% (n = 3884) were 6 to 16 years. 86% (n = 8515) were illiterate. 12.4% (n = 1224) were visually impaired, of which 9.9% had early moderate VI, and 2.5% had severe VI and blindness. Uncorrected refractive error was detected in 7.5% (n = 744) and cataracts in 7.6% (n = 754); among the adults, 41.5% (n = 924/2227) had presbyopia. In children, 20% (n = 790) had vitamin A deficiency, 17% (n = 234) had global acute malnutrition, and 18% (n = 244) were stunted for their age. Almost two-thirds (62%, n = 6144) confirmed habitual intake of alcohol, and 4% (n = 389) of adults had essential hypertension. Following the screening, 43.5% (n = 837) of referred patients reported to the fixed centers, and 55% (134/243) of people advised underwent cataract surgery. Spectacles were dispensed to 1496 individuals. Conclusion: Visual impairment and malnutrition are high in Dongaria indigenous community. Permanent health facilities and advocacy would improve this community's health and health-seeking behavior.

Review on the Safety and Efficacy of Brolucizumab for Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration From Major Studies and Real-World Data.

Frequent antivascular endothelial growth factor injections in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) often lead to poor compliance and suboptimal outcomes. A longer-acting agent has been a pressing unmet need until recently. Brolucizumab, an antivascular endothelial growth factor agent, is a single-chain antibody fragment approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on October 8, 2019, for treating nAMD. It delivers more molecules at equivalent volumes of aflibercept, thus achieving a longer-lasting effect. We reviewed literature published in English between January 2016 and October 2022 from MEDLINE, PubMed, Cochrane database, Embase, and Google scholar using the keywords: "Brolucizumab, real-world data, intraocular inflammation (IOI), safety, and efficacy". Brolucizumab showed reduced injection frequency, better anatomic outcomes, and noninferior vision gains compared with aflibercept in HAWK and HARRIER studies. However, post hoc studies on brolucizumab revealed a higher-than-expected incidence of IOI, leading to the early termination of 3 studies: MERLIN, RAPTOR, and RAVEN for nAMD, branch retinal vein occlusion, and central retinal vein occlusion, respectively. Contrastingly real-world data showed encouraging outcomes in terms of fewer IOI cases. The subsequent amendment of the treatment protocol resulted in reduced IOI. Thereafter US FDA approved its use in diabetic macular edema on June 1, 2022. Based on major studies and real-world data, this review shows that brolucizumab is effective for treating naive and refractory nAMD. The risk of IOI is acceptable and manageable, but proper preinjection screening and high-vigilance care of IOI are needed. More studies are warranted to evaluate further the incidence, best prevention, and treatment measures for IOI.

Risk Stratification on Systemic Target Organ Involvement Associated with Hypertensive Retinopathy.

BACKGROUND: Hypertensive retinopathy is a common complication among people with hypertension. The current study assessed the risk stratification on systemic target organ involvement of people with hypertensive retinopathy. METHODS: In a hospital- based cross-sectional study conducted at a tertiary referral eye institute in Nepal, we included consecutive people ≥ 31 years with essential hypertension. Details of histories and systemic target organ involvements were documented. People with un-gradable retinal findings of hypertensive retinopathy and prior retinal surgery were excluded. All participants underwent comprehensive eye examination, including dilated fundus examination. Hypertensive retinopathy was classified by Modified Scheie classification. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify the risks for hypertensive retinopathy and target organ involvement. RESULTS: The study recruited 312 subjects. The mean age was 63.68 ± 12.63 years. The mean duration of hypertension was 7.0 ± 6.5 years. Hypertensive retinopathy was detected in 83.7% (n=261) people and 63.5% (n= 198) had grade 1 hypertensive retinopathy. Target organ involvement was detected in 20.5% (n =64) people. These included cardiac (12.5%; n=39), central nervous (5.1%; n= 16), and renal (4.5%; n=14) systems. In multivariate analysis, concurrent hyperlipidaemia was significantly associated with hypertensive retinopathy and target organ involvement. Target organ involvement increased with the severity of hypertensive retinopathy. CONCLUSIONS: Over four-fifths of people with hypertension had hypertensive retinopathy and one-fifth had other systemic target organ involvements. Severity of hypertensive retinopathy and concurrent hyperlipidaemia were associated with target organ involvement. Hypertensive retinopathy can be considered for risk stratification to other target organ involvement in a clinical setting.

Mumbai metropolitan region eye care facility survey: Mumbai Eye Disease Study (MEDiS) report #1.

Purpose: To examine the eye care practice in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). Methods: This study consisted of primary and secondary research conducted in five zones of MMR. The primary research included interviews with the patients, eye care providers, and key opinion leaders. The secondary research included analyzing data from the professional ophthalmology societies, public health domain, and health insurance providers. We divided people into three economic classes by annual income - low (1.8 m). We analyzed the collected data to estimate the eye care demand-supply, quality of eye care, health-seeking behavior, gap in eye care delivery, and eye care expenditure. Results: We examined 473 key eye care facilities and interviewed 513 people. The ophthalmologist density in MMR was 80/million, and it was the highest in North MMR. Most ophthalmologists visited several facilities. Cataract surgery and glaucoma care coverage were better than other specialties; it was poor for oncology and oculoplastic services. Annual eye examination practice was poor in the low- and middle-income groups than in the high-income group (48%-50% vs. 85%). Most people preferred visiting eye care facilities within 5 km of their residence. Out-of-pocket spending was between 60% and 83%. Lower-income group people preferred public facilities. Conclusion: MMR eye care needs further improvement in affordable and accessible eye care, health literacy, public health surveillance, research into the application of newer technologies to provide less-expensive home care for the elderly and minimize their hospital visits, and collection and analysis of big data to address city-specific eye health issues.

Electronic medical records driven big data analytics in retinal diseases, report number 1: non-oncological retinal diseases in children and adolescents in India.

PURPOSE: To describe the spectrum and demographic distribution of non-oncological retinal diseases in children and adolescents presenting to a multi-tier ophthalmic hospital network in India. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional hospital-based retrospective study over nine years (March 2011-March 2020) from a pyramidal eye care network in India. The analysis included 477,954 new patients (0-21 years), collected from an International Classification of Diseases (ICD) coded electronic medical record (EMR) system. Patients with a clinical diagnosis of retinal disease (non-oncological) in at least one eye were included. Age-wise distribution of these diseases in children and adolescents was analysed. RESULTS: In the study, 8.44% (n = 40,341) of new patients were diagnosed with non-oncological retinal pathology in at least one eye. The age group-specific distribution of retinal diseases was 47.4%, 11. 8%, 5.9%, 5.9%, 6.4%, 7.6% in infants (< 1 year), toddlers (1-2 years), early childhood (3-5 years), middle childhood (6-11 years), early adolescents (12-18 years) and late adolescents (18-21 years), respectively. 60% were male, and 70% had bilateral disease. The mean age was 9.46 ± 7.52 years. The common retinal disorders were retinopathy of prematurity (ROP, 30.5%), retinal dystrophy (19.5%; most commonly, retinitis pigmentosa), and retinal detachment (16.4%). Four-fifth of the eyes had moderate to severe visual impairment. Nearly one-sixth of patients needed low vision and rehabilitative services, and about 1 in 10 patients required surgical intervention (n = 5960, 8.6%). CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE: About 1 in 10 children and adolescents seeking eye care in our cohort had non-oncological retinal diseases; the common ones were ROP (in infants) and retinitis pigmentosa (in adolescents). This information would help future strategic planning of eye health care in the institution in pediatric and adolescent age groups.

Application and validation of a novel inflammatory score in the clinical grading of infectious endophthalmitis: The endophthalmitis management study - Report 2.

Purpose: This study was conducted to describe and validate a novel inflammatory score (IS) system in the management of infectious endophthalmitis. Methods: This was a prospective comparative non-interventional observational study. The study included the patients with clinical signs and symptoms of acute post-cataract surgery endophthalmitis (surgery within 6 weeks) with visual acuity from 6/18 to light perception. IS was scored by the clinical picture at two-levels of four ocular tissues on a scale of 0 (normal) to 4 (severe). Four masked graders of different levels of experience evaluated slit-lamp photographs. The concordance correlation coefficient was assessed between the slit-lamp clinical grading and photographic grading. We measured the concordance correlation coefficient, Pearson's correlation (indicating precision), and the bias correction factor (indicating the accuracy). Results: The study included 43 eyes of 43 patients. The concordance correlation coefficient was 0.99 (95% CI 0.995 to 0.998). Both Pearson's correlation coefficient and the bias correction were 0.99. The interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was measured. The intra-rater ICC was 0.833 with good agreement (95% CI, 0.711 to 0.906; P < 0.001). Inter-rater ICC for consistency was 0.92 (95% CI 0.87 to 0.95). Inter-rater ICC for absolute agreement was 0.86 (95% CI 0.66 to 0.93). Conclusion: Currently used IS scoring in the study is a reliable, reproducible, and easy-to-apply scale to measure inflammation severity in endophthalmitis. We propose that it can have applications in decision-making for primary treatment and monitoring progression in acute infectious endophthalmitis.

Intraocular Microbiome in Diabetes and Diabetic Retinopathy: A Pilot Study.

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to compare the microbiome in the aqueous humour and gut of people with diabetes mellitus (DM) with and without diabetic retinopathy (DR). METHODS: This was a prospective controlled study. The study included 17 people undergoing intraocular surgery in their naïve eyes. Stool samples were obtained in the perioperative period; aqueous humour samples of sufficient quantity were obtained in 12 people during intraocular surgery. Dietary information was obtained using a previously validated questionnaire. The gut and aqueous humour samples were assessed for microbiome using 16S rRNA gene sequencing coupled with QIIME and R software. RESULTS: Aqueous humour was analysed in 12 people: 4 each healthy controls, people with DM, and people with DR. There were minor differences at the phyla levels, but the aqueous humour microbiomes of healthy controls, DM, and DR formed three distinct clusters on heat map analysis with discriminatory genera. This genera-level clustering was more apparent for the intraocular than the gut microbiome. In people with DM and DR, we identified genera unique to the eye or the gut. There was a consistent reduction in the abundance of anti-inflammatory bacteria in people with DR than DM. CONCLUSIONS: There is a difference in intraocular and gut microbiome regardless of disease or health. Our preliminary findings indicate distinctive features of the intraocular microbiome in people with DR compared with those without it. While this distinctiveness appears more evident in aqueous humour than in the gut, it needs further confirmation with larger studies.

Exploring the contribution of ARMS2 and HTRA1 genetic risk factors in age-related macular degeneration.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of severe irreversible central vision loss in individuals over 65 years old. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have shown that the region at chromosome 10q26, where the age-related maculopathy susceptibility (ARMS2/LOC387715) and HtrA serine peptidase 1 (HTRA1) genes are located, represents one of the strongest associated loci for AMD. However, the underlying biological mechanism of this genetic association has remained elusive. In this article, we extensively review the literature by us and others regarding the ARMS2/HTRA1 risk alleles and their functional significance. We also review the literature regarding the presumed function of the ARMS2 protein and the molecular processes of the HTRA1 protein in AMD pathogenesis in vitro and in vivo, including those of transgenic mice overexpressing HtrA1/HTRA1 which developed Bruch's membrane (BM) damage, choroidal neovascularization (CNV), and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV), similar to human AMD patients. The elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of the ARMS2 and HTRA1 susceptibility loci has begun to untangle the complex biological pathways underlying AMD pathophysiology, pointing to new testable paradigms for treatment.

Unconventional avenues to decelerate diabetic retinopathy.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is an important microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus (DM), causing significant visual impairment worldwide. Current gold standards for retarding the progress of DR include blood sugar control and regular fundus screening. Despite these measures, the incidence and prevalence of DR and vision-threatening DR remain high. Given its slowly progressive course and long latent period, opportunities to contain or slow DR before it threatens vision must be explored. This narrative review assesses the recently described unconventional strategies to retard DR progression. These include gut-ocular flow, gene therapy, mitochondrial dysfunction-oxidative stress, stem cell therapeutics, neurodegeneration, anti-inflammatory treatments, lifestyle modification, and usage of phytochemicals. These therapies impact DR directly, while some of them also influence DM control. Most of these strategies are currently in the preclinical stage, and clinical evidence remains low. Nevertheless, our review suggests that these approaches have the potential for human use to prevent the progression of DR.

The retinal vascular growth rate in babies with retinopathy of prematurity could indicate treatment need.

Purpose: To analyze the weekly rate of retinal vascular growth in treatment-naïve babies with various stages of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and validate if this could be a predictor of treatment need. Methods: Retrospective review of medical charts and retinal images of babies with various stages of ROP. The images were enhanced using red-green image enhancement software. Using the length of the horizontal disc diameter (DD) of each eye, the vessel growth was measured from the disc margin up to the vessel tip in fixed quadrants. The rate of vessel growth was the ratio of vessel length to the number of weeks it took to reach this length. The babies were divided into treatment warranting ROP (group 1), low-risk pre-threshold (type II) ROP (group 2,), and no-ROP (group 3) for analysis. The "no-ROP" group acted as normal control. Group 1 was further subdivided into 1A (threshold ROP), IB (aggressive posterior ROP), 1C (hybrid ROP), and ID (high-risk pre-threshold ROP). Results: Out of 436 eyes, groups 1, 2, and 3 had 238, 108, and 90 eyes, respectively. The mean rate of vascular outgrowth along with 95% confidence interval (CI) was 0.490 [0.487,0.520], 0.612 [0.599, 0.638], and 0.719 [0.703, 0.740] DD/week, respectively, for babies with "treatment warranting," "low risk pre-threshold" and "no ROP" groups, respectively. In our estimate, more than 80% of eyes with a vessel growth rate of 0.54 DD/week or less required treatment. Conclusion: A rate of retinal vascular growth less than 0.54 DD/week can be used to determine treatment requirements in babies with ROP.