Serous maculopathy with absence of retinal pigment epithelium (SMARPE) associated with large drusen.

PURPOSE: To describe the association of serous maculopathy with absence of retinal pigment epithelium (SMARPE) and large drusen in patients with non-neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). METHODS: A retrospective study of ophthalmic examination and multimodal imaging data of individuals with SMARPE and large drusen observed over a period of 12-month was accomplished. SMARPE was defined as subretinal accumulation of fluid within the macular area due to retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) aperture. Large drusen were identified by the presence of sub-RPE deposits using multimodal imaging analysis (color fundus photography, fundus autofluorescence, and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography). RESULTS: Twelve eyes of 7 white patients with a mean age of 77 years were observed to have SMARPE associated with large drusen. The median visual acuity was 20/100. Bilateral SMARPE lesions were observed in 71% of study patients. All SMARPE lesions were hypoautofluorescent, located in the subretinal space between the RPE and the ellipsoid zone, and presented as complete or incomplete RPE apertures associated with subretinal fluid. The SMARPE in this study had coincident multimodal imaging features as the SMARPE described in other reports in the literature. CONCLUSIONS: Bilateral SMARPE can occur in association with typical AMD large drusen. Anomalisms resulting in drusen biogenesis or mechanisms that act alongside to these may be related to SMARPE development.

Birdshot retinochoroiditis in Brazil: a multicenter review of 40 patients.

BACKGROUND: Birdshot retinochoroiditis (BRC) is a rare and chronic bilateral uveitis mostly found in Caucasians. As few data are available about the clinical course of BRC in Hispanic patients, we aimed to report the clinical findings and the evolution of BRC in Brazilian patients. METHODS: This retrospective cohort multicenter nationwide study was performed by analyzing the records of patients with BRC diagnoses from Brazilian ophthalmological centers from April 1995 to May 2020. RESULTS: Forty patients (80 eyes) with a diagnosis of BRC were evaluated. The mean age was 53 years, and there was no sex predominance. All tested patients (34/40) were positive for HLA-A29. The diagnosis of BRC was made following the Levinson et al. criteria, and all ancillary tests were performed to exclude differential diagnoses. Clinical signs and symptoms, such as complications and treatment, were described. CONCLUSIONS: BRC evolution in Brazilian patients seems to have some peculiarities that diverge from the published literature available about Caucasians, as AS inflammation is higher in this population.

Outcomes of iris-claw anterior chamber versus iris-fixated foldable intraocular lens in subluxated lens secondary to Marfan syndrome.

PURPOSE: To compare the outcome of phacoemulsification using 2 different iris-fixation techniques for intraocular lens (IOL) replacement, a foldable posterior chamber IOL (PCIOL; AcrySof MA60AC, Alcon Laboratories Inc, Fort Worth, TX) and an iris-claw anterior chamber IOL (ACIOL; Artisan, Ophtec BV), for treatment of subluxated lenses in patients with Marfan syndrome (MFS). DESIGN: Randomized, controlled trial. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 31 eyes of 16 patients with subluxated lenses associated with MFS and a preoperative corrected visual acuity (CVA) < or =20/40 based on the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study chart. METHODS: Patients were enrolled and the eye with worse visual acuity was randomly assigned to 1 of 2 study arms: phacoemulsification and iris-fixated PCIOL or phacoemulsification and iris-claw ACIOL; the second eye of the same patient received the other IOL type. Preoperative and postoperative ophthalmologic examination, optical coherence tomography, and endothelial cell counts were performed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We recorded CVA results at 3, 6, and 12 months, complications, endothelial cell loss, and central retinal thickness. RESULTS: In the iris-fixated PCIOL group, CVA was significantly improved at 3 (P = 0.011; n = 16), 6 (P = 0.006; n = 16), and 12 months (P = 0.002; n = 16). In the iris-claw ACIOL group, CVA was significantly improved at 3 (P = 0.001; n=15), 6 (P = 0.001; n = 15), and 12 months (P = 0.009; n = 12). The CVA results did not differ significantly between groups. Dislocation of the IOL occurred in 3 of 16 (18.75%) eyes in the PCIOL group. Retinal detachment occurred in 3 eyes (2 in the PCIOL group and 1 in the ACIOL group) and was successfully repaired. Postoperative foveal tomograms in both groups revealed a decrease in the mean foveal thickness (MFT; < or =172 microm) in 54.16% of the patients. CONCLUSIONS: The iris-sutured PCIOL and iris-claw ACIOL produced comparable improvements in CVA at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. Although IOL dislocation tended to occur more frequently in the iris-fixated PCIOL group, the difference was not significant. At 6 months postoperatively, all study patients tended to have a thinner MFT. None of the patients in either group developed cystoid macular edema.

STRATUSOCT and multifocal ERG in unilateral acute idiopathic maculopathy.

BACKGROUND: Unilateral acute idiopathic maculopathy (UAIM) is a rare entity, in which an inflammatory process involves the macular retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and outer retina. It represents a wide spectrum of ocular findings not consistently present in all patients, which may lead to difficulties in the recognition of the condition. METHODS: This observational case report presents the third-generation optical coherence tomography (StratusOCT) and multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG) findings in a 31-year-old woman with UAIM in the acute phase as well as two months later, and discusses the role of StratusOCT in the diagnosis. RESULTS: In the acute phase, StratusOCT demonstrated abnormal heterogeneous hyperreflectivity and thickening at the level of the outer retina and RPE in the foveal region. Two months after the initial presentation, StratusOCT examination showed a subfoveal area of homogeneous hyperreflectivity that extended from the RPE to the outer retinal layers with posterior shadowing, and sparse points of hyperreflectivity at several different levels of the neurosensory retina, including its superficial layers. The foveal retinal thickness during the acute phase was thicken compared with that after resolution. Seven days after the initial evaluation, mfERG showed severely reduced N1-P1 amplitudes with normal latencies in the region corresponding to the affected area of the papillomacular bundle and fovea. Two months later, mfERG results were normal. CONCLUSIONS: StratusOCT provided valuable information, allowing for the exclusion of other disorders that might mimic UAIM. mfERG findings were consistent with transient outer retinal dysfunction as the cause of visual loss. We are unaware of previous reports of UAIM studied by these methods and could find no reference to them in a computerized search using MEDLINE.

Retinal capillary hemangioma treatment by indocyanine green-mediated photothrombosis.

PURPOSE: To describe the clinical, angiographic and optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings of a patient with a large retinal capillary hemangioma who was treated by indocyanine green-mediated photothrombosis. Interventional case report. METHODS: An 18-year-old male patient was treated at a tertiary referral center with a novel laser-dye procedure that uses low-irradiance 810-nm laser and intravenous indocyanine green injection and was prospectively evaluated with fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography, as well as OCT. RESULTS: Vision improved from 20/125 to 20/32 + 1 at 1-year follow-up. Fundus photography showed marked reduction of a 3 disk diameters retinal capillary hemangioma. Both fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography demonstrated reduced tumor perfusion and narrowing of the lesion feeder and draining vessels as early as 5 days after indocyanine green-mediated photothrombosis; OCT showed immediate decrease in retinal elevation and complete resolution of subretinal fluid within 2 months of treatment. Minimal laser-induced effects were noted in the vicinity of the tumor. CONCLUSIONS: Photothrombosis using low-intensity, 810-nm light to direct laser energy continuously at the tumor after intravenous indocyanine green infusion was effective in restoring macular architecture and improving vision in a patient with a large peripheral retinal capillary hemangioma by means of substantial occlusion of the tumor vasculature and resolution of subretinal fluid.