Literature review and proposal of best practice for ophthalmologists: monitoring of patients following intravitreal brolucizumab therapy.

Brolucizumab is a novel humanised, single-chain, variable fragment inhibitor of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-A for the treatment of neurovascular age-related macular degeneration. Brolucizumab gained US Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency approval following the Phase III HAWK (NCT02307682) and HARRIER (NCT02434328) trials which compared brolucizumab with aflibercept, presenting a tolerable safety and favourable efficacy profile. The mean change (least squares [LS] mean ± standard error) in best-corrected visual acuity letters from baseline to week 96 in the HAWK trial was 5.

Long-term heavy silicone oil intraocular tamponade.

Heavy silicone oil tamponade is intended to be temporary, but may occasionally be indefinite in patients who refuse, or are deemed unsuitable for, further surgery. The aim of this study is to compare the outcomes of patients with temporary versus indefinite heavy silicone oil intraocular tamponade. This retrospective, comparative case series identified 75 patients who underwent heavy silicone oil instillation (Oxane HD) over a 6 year period (2006-2012) in one institution.

Tumor necrosis factor polymorphisms associated with tumor necrosis factor production influence the risk of idiopathic intermediate uveitis.

Purpose: Idiopathic intermediate uveitis (IIU) is a potentially sight-threatening inflammatory disorder with well-defined anatomic diagnostic criteria. It is often associated with multiple sclerosis, and both conditions are linked to HLA-DRB1*15. Previously, we have shown that non-infectious uveitis (NIU) is associated with interleukin 10 (IL10) polymorphisms, IL10-2849A (rs6703630), IL10+434T (rs2222202), and IL10+504G (rs3024490), while a LTA+252AA/TNFA-238GG haplotype (rs909253/rs361525) is protective.

Punctate inner choroidopathy and multifocal choroiditis with panuveitis share haplotypic associations with IL10 and TNF loci.

Purpose: The white-dot syndromes are a heterogenous group of chorioretinal disorders that have many common clinical features. Whether these disorders represent distinct clinical entities or different manifestations of the same disease warrants further interrogation. Two white-dot syndromes were investigated, with closely overlapping phenotypes--multifocal choroiditis with panuveitis (MFCPU) and punctate inner choroidopathy (PIC)--for differences in clinical course and genotype frequency at IL10 and TNF loci, known to be associated with noninfectious uveitis.

Cytokine polymorphism in noninfectious uveitis.

Purpose: Noninfectious uveitis is a sight-threatening immune-mediated intraocular inflammatory disorder. The inheritance of uveitis in multiplex families and its association with known monogenic and polygenic immunologic disorders suggests that common genetic variants underlie susceptibility to uveitis as well as to other immunologic disorders. TNFA and IL10 are strong candidate genes, given the influence of these cytokines on inflammation, immune tolerance, and apoptosis.

Cytokine gene polymorphism in sympathetic ophthalmia.

Purpose: Sympathetic ophthalmia (SO) is a prototypical autoimmune disease in which injury to one eye causes sight-threatening inflammation in the otherwise normal contralateral eye. Previous work found that human leukocyte antigen alleles HLA-DRB1*04 and DQA1*03 are markers of increased susceptibility and severity in British and Irish patients. Evidence is accumulating that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in cytokine genes can also influence the development of autoimmune disease through their effect on levels of cytokine production.

Risk factors for endothelial cell loss after phacoemulsification surgery by a junior resident.

Purpose: To assess the risk factors for endothelial cell loss after phacoemulsification cataract surgery performed by a junior resident.

Setting: Ophthalmic teaching hospital, Dublin, Ireland.

Methods: This prospective study included 40 eyes having divide-and-conquer phacoemulsification cataract surgery by a junior resident under the supervision of an experienced surgeon.

Grading of pars planitis by ultrasound biomicroscopy--echographic and clinical study.

Objective: To determine the value of high frequency ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) in the assessment of pars planitis, and in particular to correlate UBM findings and ophthalmoscopy findings.

Methods: All patients with pars planitis were identified from the uveitis database of the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Aberdeen. Fifteen consecutive patients (age 14-52 years) underwent complete ophthalmological examination.