Utility of multimodal imaging in the clinical diagnosis of inherited retinal degenerations.

Inherited retinal degeneration (IRD) is a heterogeneous group of genetic disorders of variable onset and severity, with vision loss being a common endpoint in most cases. More than 50 distinct IRD phenotypes and over 280 causative genes have been described. Establishing a clinical phenotype for patients with IRD is particularly challenging due to clinical variability even among patients with similar genotypes.

NR2E3-Associated Retinopathy Presenting with Bilateral Choroidal Neovascularization.

Purpose: We describe an atypical presentation of an 11-year-old female with enhanced S-cone syndrome (ESCS).

Methods: Case report. The patient underwent a thorough ophthalmic examination and investigations such as colour fundus photography, optical coherence tomography, fundus autofluorescence, fluorescein and indocyanine angiography, an electroretinogram and genetic testing.

When do patients with retinitis pigmentosa present to ophthalmologists? A multi-centre retrospective study.

Background: Planned gene therapies for retinitis pigmentosa (RP) depend on viable photoreceptors for efficacy. Understanding disease severity at presentation, and drivers that influence time to presentation is important when planning interventions. We examined features that influence RP severity at initial presentation.

Initial experiences of switching to faricimab for neovascular age-related macular degeneration and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy in an Asian population.

Purpose: To describe the early experiences of patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) whose treatment was switched to faricimab from other anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents.

Methods: This is a prospective cohort of eyes with nAMD and PCV that were previously treated with anti-VEGF agents other than faricimab. We evaluated visual acuity (VA), central subfield thickness (CST), macular volume (MV), pigment epithelial detachment (PED) height, and choroidal thickness (CT) after one administration of faricimab.

Retinal Dystrophies Associated With Peripherin-2: Genetic Spectrum and Novel Clinical Observations in 241 Patients.

Purpose: To describe the clinical, electrophysiological and genetic spectrum of inherited retinal diseases associated with variants in the PRPH2 gene.

Methods: A total of 241 patients from 168 families across 15 sites in 9 countries with pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in PRPH2 were included. Records were reviewed for age at symptom onset, visual acuity, full-field ERG, fundus colour photography, fundus autofluorescence (FAF), and SD-OCT.

Diagnostic Challenges in -Associated Retinal Degeneration: One Gene, Many Phenotypes.

(1) Purpose: -associated retinal degeneration (-RD) is a phenotypically diverse disease that often evades diagnosis, even by experienced retinal specialists. This may lead to inappropriate management, delayed genetic testing, or inaccurate interpretation of genetic testing results. Here, we illustrate the phenotypic diversity of -RD using a series of representative cases and compare these to other conditions that closely mimic -RD.

RETINITIS PIGMENTOSA ASSOCIATED WITH THE EYS C2139Y VARIANT : An Important Cause of Blindness in East Asian Populations.

Purpose: The study aimed to describe the phenotypic features of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) associated with the previously described EYS C2139Y variant in Singaporeans and establish the importance of this variant as a prevalent cause of RP among East Asians.

Methods: A clinical phenotyping and exome-sequencing study was conducted on consecutive patients with nonsyndromic RP. Epidemiological analysis was performed using Singaporean and global population-based genetic data.

The economic burden of inherited retinal disease in Singapore: a prevalence-based cost-of-illness study.

Objective: To assess the economic impact of inherited retinal disease (IRD) among Singaporeans.

Methods: IRD prevalence was calculated using population-based data. Focused surveys were conducted for sequentially enrolled IRD patients from a tertiary hospital.

Characterizing the genotypic spectrum of retinitis pigmentosa in East Asian populations: a systematic review.

Background: Ongoing trials for retinitis pigmentosa (RP) are genotype-specific, with most trials conducted on European cohorts. Due to genetic differences across diverse ancestries and populations, these therapies may not be efficacious in East Asians.

Materials And Methods: A literature search was conducted from 1966 to September 2022 for cohort studies on East Asian populations reporting on non-syndromic RP genotypes and variants.

Retinal neural dysfunction in diabetes revealed with handheld chromatic pupillometry.

Background: To evaluate the ability of handheld chromatic pupillometry to reveal and localise retinal neural dysfunction in diabetic patients with and without diabetic retinopathy (DR).

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 82 diabetics (DM) and 93 controls (60.4 ± 8.

WFS1-Associated Optic Neuropathy: Genotype-Phenotype Correlations and Disease Progression.

Objective: To evaluate the pattern of vision loss and genotype-phenotype correlations in WFS1-associated optic neuropathy (WON).

Design: Multicenter cohort study.

Methods: The study involved 37 patients with WON carrying pathogenic or candidate pathogenic WFS1 variants.

Effect of the High-Pressure Hydrogen Gas Exposure in the Silica-Filled EPDM Sealing Composites with Different Silica Content.

With the increasing interest in hydrogen energy, the stability of hydrogen storage facilities and components is emphasized. In this study, we analyzed the effect of high-pressure hydrogen gas treatment in silica-filled EPDM composites with different silica contents. In detail, cure characteristics, crosslink density, mechanical properties, and hydrogen permeation properties were investigated.

Filler Effects on H Diffusion Behavior in Nitrile Butadiene Rubber Blended with Carbon Black and Silica Fillers of Different Concentrations.

Filler effects on H diffusion in nitrile butadiene rubbers (NBRs) blended with carbon black and silica fillers of different concentrations are first investigated by employing a volumetric analysis. Total uptake, solubility, and diffusivity of hydrogen for ten filled-NBR, including neat NBR, are determined in an exposed pressure range of 1.3 MPa~92.

Filler Influence on H Permeation Properties in Sulfur-CrossLinked Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer Polymers Blended with Different Concentrations of Carbon Black and Silica Fillers.

Filler effects on H permeation properties in sulfur-crosslinked ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) polymers blended with two kinds of carbon black (CB) and silica fillers at different contents of 20 phr-60 phr are investigated by employing volumetric analysis in the pressure exposure range of 1.2 MPa~9.0 MPa.

Gene-Based Therapeutics for Inherited Retinal Diseases.

Inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) are a heterogenous group of orphan eye diseases that typically result from monogenic mutations and are considered attractive targets for gene-based therapeutics. Following the approval of an IRD gene replacement therapy for Leber's congenital amaurosis due to mutations, there has been an intensive international research effort to identify the optimal gene therapy approaches for a range of IRDs and many are now undergoing clinical trials. In this review we explore therapeutic challenges posed by IRDs and review current and future approaches that may be applicable to different subsets of IRD mutations.

OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY FEATURES OF POLYPOIDAL LESION CLOSURE IN POLYPOIDAL CHOROIDAL VASCULOPATHY TREATED WITH AFLIBERCEPT.

Purpose: To evaluate whether optical coherence tomography (OCT) can determine polypoidal lesion (PL) perfusion in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy eyes after 12 months of aflibercept monotherapy. Polypoidal lesion perfusion status, assessed by indocyanine green angiography, is an important anatomical outcome in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy management.

Methods: Post hoc data from a prospective randomized, open-label, study in eyes with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy undergoing monotherapy with aflibercept evaluated PL perfusion status based on indocyanine green angiography (gold standard) and OCT features from baseline to 12 months.

Deep clinical phenotyping and gene expression analysis in a patient with -associated retinopathy.

: Mutations in the RCC1 and BTB domain-containing protein 1 () gene have been implicated in a rare form of retinal dystrophy. Herein, we report the clinical features of a 45-year-old Singaporean-Chinese female and her presymptomatic sibling, who each possesses compound heterozygous mutations in . Expression of in patient-derived cells was evaluated.

Efficacy of a novel personalised aflibercept monotherapy regimen based on polypoidal lesion closure in participants with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy.

Purpose: To compare the efficacy of aflibercept using a personalised versus fixed regimen in treatment-naïve participants with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).

Design: A 52-week, randomised, open-label, non-inferiority, single-centre study that included participants with symptomatic PCV. Participants were randomised (3:1 ratio) to receive either personalised (n=40) or fixed 8-weekly treatment regimen (n=13).

Real-World Treatment Outcomes of Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy in Asians.

Purpose: To describe the 12-month outcomes of treatment-naïve eyes with choroidal neovascularization (CNV) resulting from age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) after initiation of intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) monotherapy or combination therapy with verteporfin photodynamic therapy (PDT).

Design: A 12-month single-center, retrospective, comparative, nonrandomized cohort study.

Participants: Patients with AMD or PCV who initiated intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy during 2015.

Quantitative Microvascular Analysis With Wide-Field Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography in Eyes With Diabetic Retinopathy.

Importance: Wide-field optical coherence tomographic angiography (OCTA) may provide insights to peripheral capillary dropout in eyes with diabetic retinopathy (DR).

Objective: To describe the diagnostic performance of wide-field OCTA with and without large vessel removal for assessment of DR in persons with diabetes.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This case-control study was performed from April 26, 2018, to April 8, 2019, at a single tertiary eye center in Singapore.

Human pharyngeal microbiota in age-related macular degeneration.

Background: While the aetiology of age-related macular degeneration (AMD)-a major blinding disease-remains unknown, the disease is strongly associated with variants in the complement factor H (CFH) gene. CFH variants also confer susceptibility to invasive infection with several bacterial colonizers of the nasopharyngeal mucosa. This shared susceptibility locus implicates complement deregulation as a common disease mechanism, and suggests the possibility that microbial interactions with host complement may trigger AMD.

IMPROVED DETECTION AND DIAGNOSIS OF POLYPOIDAL CHOROIDAL VASCULOPATHY USING A COMBINATION OF OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY AND OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY ANGIOGRAPHY.

Purpose: To assess the ability of optical coherence tomography (OCT) alone and in combination with OCT angiography (OCTA) to differentiate polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) from neovascular age-related macular degeneration, as compared to fluorescein angiography and indocyanine green angiography.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. All participants had a standardized history, clinical examination including measurement of best-corrected visual acuity, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, and indirect fundus examination, and underwent standardized imaging (color photography, fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography, OCT, and OCTA) after predefined protocols.

Incidence of Fellow Eye Involvement in Patients With Unilateral Exudative Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

Importance: Since the advent of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A), nonexudative neovascularization has been described in the fellow eyes of unilateral exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD). However, there is limited literature describing the natural course and optimal management of these lesions.

Objective: To determine the incidence of fellow eye involvement in patients presenting with unilateral typical AMD or polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy and to evaluate the patterns of OCT-A changes within 6 months before the onset of exudative changes, especially focusing on nonexudative neovascularization.

Choroidal Remodeling in Age-related Macular Degeneration and Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy: A 12-month Prospective Study.

Choroid thinning occurs in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). However, it remains unclear whether the reduction is due to reduction in choroidal vessels or shrinkage of choroidal stroma, or both. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the changes of the choroidal vascular and stromal area in 118 patients with typical AMD (t-AMD) and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) over a 12-month period.