Efficacy of citicoline as a supplement in glaucoma patients: A systematic review.

PURPOSE: Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Retinal ganglion cells (RGC), the neurons that connect the eyes to the brain, specifically die in glaucoma, leading to blindness. Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is the only modifiable risk factor, however, many patients progress despite excellent IOP control. Thus, alternative treatment strategies to prevent glaucoma progression are an unmet need. Citicoline has demonstrated neuroprotective properties in central neurodegenerative diseases. However, conclusive evidence of the effect of citicoline on glaucoma progression is missing. This systematic review investigates first-time the therapeutic potential of citicoline in glaucoma patients. METHODS: The present study was conducted according to the PRISMA 2020 statement. PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Embase were accessed in July 2023 to identify all clinical studies investigating the efficacy of citicoline on IOP, the mean deviation of the 24-2 visual field testing (MD 24-2), retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL), and the pattern electroretinogram (PERG) P50-N95 amplitude in glaucoma patients. The risk of bias was assessed using the Review Manager 5.3 software (The Nordic Cochrane Collaboration, Copenhagen) and the Risk of Bias in Non-randomised Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I) tool. RESULTS: Ten studies were eligible for this systematic review, including 424 patients. The mean length of the follow-up was 12.1 ± 11.6 months. The overall risk of bias was low to moderate. The mean age of the patients was 56.7 years. There were no significant differences in the IOP, MD 24-2, RNFL, or PERG P50-N95 amplitude between patients receiving citicoline and the control group. There was no improvement from baseline to the last follow-up in IOP, MD 24-2, RNFL, or PERG P50-N95 amplitude. CONCLUSION: There is a lack of sufficient evidence to support that citicoline slows the progression of glaucoma.

Honey-Related Treatment Strategies in Dry Eye Disease.

This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated whether honey-related treatment strategies improve the signs and symptoms of patients with dry eye disease (DED). In March 2023, the following databases were accessed for clinical trials investigating the efficacy of honey-related treatment strategies in DED: PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and EMBASE. The following data were extracted at baseline and at the last follow-up: Ocular Surface Disease Index, tear breakup time, Schirmer I test, and corneal staining. Data from 323 patients were retrieved (53.3% female, mean age 40.6 ± 18.1 years). The mean follow-up was 7.0 ± 4.2 weeks. All the endpoints of interest significantly improved from baseline to the last follow-up: tear breakup time (p = 0.01), Ocular Surface Disease Index (p < 0.0001), Schirmer I test (p = 0.0001), and corneal staining (p < 0.0001). No difference was found in tear breakup time (p = 0.3), Ocular Surface Disease Index (p = 0.4), Schirmer I test (p = 0.3), and corneal staining (p = 0.3) between the honey-related treatment strategies and the control groups. According to our main results, honey-related treatment strategies are effective and feasible to improve symptoms and signs of DED.

Acupuncture for the management of dry eye disease.

The effectiveness of using acupuncture for dry eye disease (DED) is controversial. Thus, this systematic review investigated the effectiveness and feasibility of using acupuncture for DED in accordance with the 2020 PRISMA statement. The outcomes of interests were (1) to evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture in improving the ocular surface disease index (OSDI), Schirmer I test score, and tear breakup time from baseline to the last follow-up; (2) to determine possible complications of using acupuncture; and (3) to investigate the superiority of acupuncture over other commonly used treatments for DED. Data from 394 patients were collected. Results showed that acupuncture significantly prolonged the tear breakup time (P < 0.0001), significantly increased the Schirmer I test score (P < 0.0001), and significantly reduced the OSDI (P < 0.0001) from baseline to the last follow-up. Compared with the control group, the acupuncture group had significantly greater Schirmer I test score (P < 0.0001), significantly longer tear breakup time (P = 0.0004), and significantly lower OSDI (P = 0.002). These results suggest that acupuncture is effective and feasible in improving symptoms and signs of DED. No severe adverse effects of acupuncture were observed.

[Diagnostic Precision of the Confocal Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscopy in the Large Optic Disc with Physiological Excavation - a Long-Term Study]. / Diagnostische Zuverlässigkeit der konfokalen Scanning-Laser-Ophthalmoskopie bei großen Papillen mit physiologischer Exkavation ­ eine Langzeitstudie.

We repeatedly examined 17 subjects with presumed bilateral physiological excavation labeled as pathological and/or borderline via HRT to verify the diagnosis of physiological cupping or to monitor the long-term progression into normal tension glaucoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 17 Subjects with presumed bilateral physiological cupping and large optic discs were included in this long-term follow-up study. All subjects underwent regular detailed ophthalmologic examinations, including intraocular pressure measurement via Goldmann applanation tonometry (GAT), retinal nerve fiber layer imaging via optical coherence tonometry (OCT) and visual field testing and optic disc imaging using the HRT. Glaucomatous progression was identified using the HRT's tools (stereometric trend analysis [STA] and topographic change analysis [TCA]). RESULTS: In the initial examination, all 17 subjects were classified as "pathological", by the HRT's Moorfield's Regression Analysis (MRA). Over the observation period of 9.2 ± 5 years, only 1 of the 17 subjects showed an ensured conversion to normal tension glaucoma with glaucomatous visual field defects. The remaining 16 subjects show no visual field defects to date. STA showed significant changes in 3 subjects alone, in 1 subject TCA showed a significant change alone, and in 1 subject both analyses showed a progressive change. CONCLUSION: After 9 years of regular examinations, 16 of the 17 subjects that were classified as "pathological" using MRA showed no glaucomatous visual field defects. In 5 out of these 16 subjects, progressive changes of the optic disc could be recorded via HRT. Therefore, the diagnostic precision of the HRT measurements seems to be limited in patients with large discs and physiological cupping.