MERLIN: Two-Year Results of Brolucizumab in Participants with Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Persistent Retinal Fluid.

Purpose: To report the safety and efficacy of brolucizumab (Beovu) 6 mg versus aflibercept (Eylea) 2 mg administered every 4 weeks in participants with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and persistent retinal fluid after the week 52 up to week 104.

Design: Multicenter, randomized, double-masked phase 3a study.

Participants: Participants with recalcitrant nAMD (persistent residual retinal fluid despite previous frequent anti-VEGF treatment).

Real-World Safety Outcomes with Brolucizumab in Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Findings from the IRIS® Registry.

Introduction: To assess real-world safety outcomes for adults with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) treated with brolucizumab from the US-based IRIS® (Intelligent Research in Sight) Registry.

Methods: In this retrospective study, 18,312 eyes (15,998 patients) treated with ≥ 1 intravitreal brolucizumab injections between 8 October 2019 (US launch date for brolucizumab) and 7 October 2021 were followed up for ≤ 2 years after first injection (index date). The study assessed the predefined incident ocular adverse events of intraocular inflammation (IOI), retinal vasculitis (RV), and retinal vascular occlusion (RO).

One-Year Brolucizumab Outcomes in Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration from a Large United States Cohort in the IRIS® Registry.

Purpose: To evaluate visual acuity (VA) and injection intervals in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) after 12 months of brolucizumab therapy in clinical practice.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Participants: Adults in the United States-based IRIS® Registry (Intelligent Research in Sight) with nAMD who received brolucizumab exclusively for 12 months (2308 eyes of 2079 patients).

Factors Linked to Injection Interval Extension in Eyes with Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration Switched to Brolucizumab.

Purpose: To evaluate factors associated with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injection interval extension in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) switched to brolucizumab treatment.

Design: Retrospective, observational cohort study.

Participants: Adults in the United States-based IRIS® Registry (Intelligent Research in Sight) with nAMD who switched from another anti-VEGF agent to brolucizumab-only treatment for ≥ 12 months from October 8, 2019, through November 26, 2021.

Does Adjunctive Under-flap CXL Reduce Regression for Hyperopic LASIK?

Purpose: To investigate whether adding accelerated under-flap corneal cross-linking to hyperopic laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK-ufCXL) affects postoperative stability and regression, visual and refractive outcomes, and subjective quality of vision.

Methods: This prospective comparative contralateral eye study included 51 patients with hyperopia (102 eyes) who received LASIK-ufCXL in the eye with highest defocus equivalent (DEQ) or randomized when DEQ equal, with the contralateral control eye receiving LASIK alone. After excimer ablation, 0.

MERLIN: Phase 3a, Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Masked Trial of Brolucizumab in Participants with Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Persistent Retinal Fluid.

Purpose: To assess the 52-week efficacy and safety of brolucizumab 6 mg administered every 4 weeks compared with aflibercept 2 mg dosed every 4 weeks in eyes with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and persistent retinal fluid.

Design: Multicenter, randomized, double-masked phase 3a study.

Participants: Participants with recalcitrant nAMD (persistent residual retinal fluid despite previous frequent anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment).

Refractive, visual, and subjective quality of vision outcomes for very high myopia LASIK from - 10.00 to - 13.50 diopters.

Background: To evaluate laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) outcomes, subjective quality of vision (QoV) and patient satisfaction in eyes with very high myopia (VHM) above - 10.00 diopters (D).

Methods: Consecutive myopic and myopic-astigmatism eyes with spherical equivalent (SEQ) ranging between - 10.

Primary Topography-Guided LASIK: Refractive, Visual, and Subjective Quality of Vision Outcomes for Astigmatism ⩾2.00 Diopters.

Purpose: To evaluate the outcomes of primary topography-guided laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) in eyes with subjective refractive astigmatism of 2.00 diopters (D) or greater.

Methods: This was a prospective study in consecutive eyes with cylinder of 2.

Clinically significant laser in situ keratomileusis flap striae.

Purpose: To describe the incidence, risk factors, and outcomes before and after irrigation of clinically significant laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) flap striae.

Setting: Multisurgeon multicenter standardized protocol practice.

Design: Retrospective case-control series.

Under-flap stromal bed CXL for early post-LASIK ectasia: a novel treatment technique.

Purpose: Collagen cross-linking (CXL) for post-laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) ectasia (PLE) is traditionally performed either epi-on or epi-off on the corneal surface. This study describes a novel technique in treating early PLE with under-flap CXL (ufCXL) to the stromal bed and reports on 6-month outcomes.

Patients And Methods: Case series of seven patients (eight eyes) with topography-diagnosed early PLE treated with ufCXL.

Type VIII collagen mediates vessel wall remodeling after arterial injury and fibrous cap formation in atherosclerosis.

Collagens in the atherosclerotic plaque signal regulation of cell behavior and provide tensile strength to the fibrous cap. Type VIII collagen, a short-chain collagen, is up-regulated in atherosclerosis; however, little is known about its functions in vivo. We studied the response to arterial injury and the development of atherosclerosis in type VIII collagen knockout mice (Col8(-/-) mice).

Type VIII collagen signals via β1 integrin and RhoA to regulate MMP-2 expression and smooth muscle cell migration.

The extracellular matrix signals and regulates the behavior of vascular cells during the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Type VIII collagen, a short chain collagen, is scarcely present in normal arteries, but is dramatically upregulated in atherosclerosis and after other types of vascular injury. Cell culture studies have revealed that this protein supports smooth muscle cell (SMC) adhesion and stimulates migration, however little is known about the signaling or the mechanisms by which this occurs.

Oxidized phospholipids induce type VIII collagen expression and vascular smooth muscle cell migration.

Phenotypic switching of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) is known to play a critical role in the development of atherosclerosis. However, the factors present within lesions that mediate VSMC phenotypic switching are unclear. Oxidized phospholipids (OxPLs), including 1-palmitoyl-2-(5-oxovaleroyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine (POVPC), are active components of minimally modified low density lipoprotein and have been previously shown to induce multiple proatherogenic events in endothelial cells and macrophages, but their effects on VSMCs have been largely unexplored until recently.

Collagens in the progression and complications of atherosclerosis.

Collagens constitute a major portion of the extracellular matrix in the atherosclerotic plaque, where they contribute to the strength and integrity of the fibrous cap, and also modulate cellular responses via specific receptors and signaling pathways. This review focuses on the diverse roles that collagens play in atherosclerosis; regulating the infiltration and differentiation of smooth muscle cells and macrophages; controlling matrix remodeling through feedback signaling to proteinases; and influencing the development of atherosclerotic complications such as plaque rupture, aneurysm formation and calcification. Expanding our understanding of the pathways involved in cell-matrix interactions will provide new therapeutic targets and strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of atherosclerosis.

Migration and growth are attenuated in vascular smooth muscle cells with type VIII collagen-null alleles.

Objective: Type VIII collagen is upregulated after vascular injury and in atherosclerosis. However, the role of type VIII collagen endogenously expressed by smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and in the context of the vascular matrix microenvironment, which is rich in type I collagen, is not known. To address this, we have compared aortic SMCs from wild-type (WT) mice to SMCs from type VIII collagen-deficient (KO) mice when plated on type I collagen.