Bilateral Combined Rhegmatogenous and Tractional Retinal Detachments Due to Persistent High-Titer Syphilis.

A 23-year-old man developed bilateral rhegmatogenous retinal detachments secondary to high-titer ocular syphilis. The patient's titer increased four-fold after completing a 14-day course of intravenous penicillin (IVP). He underwent bilateral pars plana vitrectomy with silicone oil fill in both eyes.

Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy Requiring Vitrectomy Over Clinic Management During COVID-19: Impact of Delayed Care.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the impact of delayed retinal clinical care during the COVID-19 pandemic on the severity of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) and drivers of follow-up delay. We compared disease severity and follow-up rates of PDR patients requiring vitrectomy to those managed nonsurgically, and identified factors associated with need for vitrectomy.

Methods: The study included 739 patients diagnosed with PDR between January 1, 2018, and March 4, 2021, categorized into two groups based on outcome: vitrectomy nonvitrectomy.

Visual outcomes of acute bacterial endophthalmitis treated with adjuvant intravitreal dexamethasone: A meta-analysis and systematic review.

Adjunctive treatment of bacterial endophthalmitis with intravitreal steroids is a topic of controversy among many ophthalmologists. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of intravitreal dexamethasone on the visual outcomes of patients with acute bacterial endophthalmitis through a systematic review and meta-analysis. A literature search of PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases was performed to include studies on the visual outcomes of adjuvant intravitreal dexamethasone in patients with acute bacterial endophthalmitis.

Diabetic mice have retinal and choroidal blood flow deficits and electroretinogram deficits with impaired responses to hypercapnia.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate neuronal and vascular functional deficits in the retina and their association in a diabetic mouse model. We measured electroretinography (ERG) responses and choroidal and retinal blood flow (ChBF, RBF) with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in healthy and diabetic mice under basal conditions and under hypercapnic challenge.

Methods: Ins2Akita diabetic (Diab, n = 8) and age-matched, wild-type C57BL/6J mice (Ctrl, n = 8) were studied under room air and moderate hypercapnia (5% CO2).

The Effects of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Patients with Central Retinal Artery Occlusion: A Retrospective Study, Systematic Review, and Meta-analysis.

Purpose: Central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) is a vision-threatening condition with a potentially poor visual prognosis. Many different treatment modalities are suggested but controversy remains regarding effectiveness of these treatments. The purpose of this study is to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis in addition to analyzing retrospective data at our own tertiary care center regarding effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in treatment of CRAO.

Unusual presentation of CREST retinal vasculitis.

Purpose: To report a case of CREST (calcinosis, Raynaud's phenomenon, esophageal dysmotility, sclerodactyly, telangiectasias) syndrome-induced retinal vasculitis in the setting of ocular inflammation soon after recent micropulse cyclophotocoagulation (mTS-CPC).

Observations: Our patient developed CREST associated retinal vasculitis in both eyes (right > left) eight days after receiving mTS-CPC in her left eye. There was initial concern for sympathetic ophthalmia due to the resulting bilateral inflammation.

Protective Role of 360° Laser Retinopexy in Patients with Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Purpose: Visual impairment from retinal re-detachment could be debilitating. The aim of this review is to evaluate the role of 360° laser retinopexy on success rate of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) repair by a meta-analysis study.

Methods: The PubMed, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library databases were searched comprehensively from the date of database inception to January 2021, evaluating the role of 360° laser retinopexy in visual and anatomical success rate of RRD repair.

Treatment of central serous chorioretinopathy with topical NSAIDs.

Purpose: Central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) is a common retinopathy that is often observed until resolution. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on timing of CSCR recovery.

Methods: An IRB-approved retrospective review was conducted on patients that had been diagnosed with a new-onset, symptomatic case of CSCR.

The effects of temporary intraocular pressure spikes after intravitreal dexamethasone implantation on the retinal nerve fiber layer.

The dexamethasone (DEX) implant is known to cause temporary intraocular pressure (IOP) spikes after implantation. The purpose of this study is to determine if IOP spikes after DEX implant cause significant thinning in the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL). A total of 306 charts were reviewed with 48 and 21 patients meeting inclusion criteria for the cross-sectional and prospective groups, respectively.

The effects of repeated Ozurdex injections on ocular hypertension.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to correlate the degree of ocular hypertension with the number of Ozurdex injections.

Methods: Intraocular pressure (IOP) fluctuations for a total of 183 injections were studied over a period of at least 12 months. The main indications for treatment were uveitis, diabetic macular edema, and retinal vein occlusion.

Resolution of macular edema in radiation retinopathy after intravenous diuresis.

Purpose: To report resolution of bilateral macular edema secondary to radiation retinopathy after intravenous diuresis.

Methods: Observational case report, consisting of clinical examination, fluorescein angiography, and optical coherence tomography.

Results: A 38-year-old woman developed radiation retinopathy and severe macular edema secondary to whole brain radiation therapy for metastatic breast cancer.

Complement, innate immunity and ocular disease.

The complement system is a major component of innate immunity. During an inflammatory reaction, the eye is potentially threatened by homologous complement attack, and unregulated complement activation could lead to tissue damage and vision loss. The complement system is continuously activated at low levels in the normal eye, and intraocular complement-regulatory proteins (CRPs) tightly regulate this spontaneous complement activation so that there is elimination of potential pathogens without the induction of destructive intraocular inflammation.

Complement activation via alternative pathway is critical in the development of laser-induced choroidal neovascularization: role of factor B and factor H.

The objective of this study was to explore the role of classical, lectin, and alternative pathways of complement activation in laser-induced choroidal neovascularization (CNV). The classical and alternative pathways were blocked in C57BL/6 mice by small interfering RNAs (siRNA) directed against C1q and factor B, respectively. C4(-/-) mice developed CNV similar to their wild-type controls and inhibition of C1q by siRNA had no effect on the development of CNV.

Suppression of complement regulatory proteins (CRPs) exacerbates experimental autoimmune anterior uveitis (EAAU).

This study was undertaken to explore the role of complement regulatory proteins (CRPs) in experimental autoimmune anterior uveitis (EAAU). We observed that the levels of CRPs, Crry and CD59, in the eyes of Lewis rats increased during EAAU and remained elevated when the disease resolved. The in vivo role of these CRPs in EAAU was explored using neutralizing mAbs, antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (AS-ODNs), and small interfering RNAs against rat Crry and CD59.

The complement system plays a critical role in the development of experimental autoimmune anterior uveitis.

Purpose: The role of complement in ocular autoimmunity was explored in a experimental autoimmune anterior uveitis (EAAU) animal model.

Methods: EAAU was induced in Lewis rats by immunization with bovine melanin-associated antigen. Complement activation in the eye was monitored by Western blot for iC3b.

Anti-inflammatory effects of specific cyclooxygenase 2,5-lipoxygenase, and inducible nitric oxide synthase inhibitors on experimental autoimmune anterior uveitis (EAAU).

Purpose: Inflammation, in general, causes the release of a variety of inflammatory mediators that in turn induce cyclooxygenase (COX) 2, nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and 5-lipoxygense (LP) synthesis, producing large amounts of inflammatory prostaglandins (PG), nitric oxide (NO), and leukotriene (LT) B4. Therefore, inhibition of these enzymes may abrogate intraocular inflammation in experimental autoimmune anterior uveitis (EAAU).

Methods: Lewis rats were immunized with melanin-associated antigen (MAA) isolated from bovine iris and ciliary body.

Role of complement and complement membrane attack complex in laser-induced choroidal neovascularization.

Choroidal neovascularization (CNV), or choroidal angiogenesis, is the hallmark of age-related macular degeneration and a leading cause of visual loss after age 55. The pathogenesis of new choroidal vessel formation is poorly understood. Although inflammation has been implicated in the development of CNV, the role of complement in CNV has not been explored experimentally.

Type I collagen is the autoantigen in experimental autoimmune anterior uveitis.

This study was undertaken to identify and characterize the Ag responsible for the induction of experimental autoimmune anterior uveitis (EAAU). Melanin-associated Ag isolated from bovine iris and ciliary body was digested with the proteolytic enzyme V8 protease to solubilize the proteins and the pathogenic protein was purified to homogeneity. Lewis rats were sensitized to various fractions and investigated for the development of anterior uveitis and an immune response to the purified Ag.

Immunotherapy for choroidal neovascularization in a laser-induced mouse model simulating exudative (wet) macular degeneration.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness after age 55 in the industrialized world. Severe loss of central vision frequently occurs with the exudative (wet) form of AMD, as a result of the formation of a pathological choroidal neovasculature (CNV) that damages the macular region of the retina. We tested the effect of an immunotherapy procedure, which had been shown to destroy the pathological neovasculature in solid tumors, on the formation of laser-induced CNV in a mouse model simulating exudative AMD in humans.

Tolerance is dependent on complement C3 fragment iC3b binding to antigen-presenting cells.

Systemic tolerance can be induced by the introduction of antigen into an immune-privileged site. Here we investigated the role of complement in the induction of tolerance after intraocular injection. We found that the development of antigen-specific tolerance is dependent on a complement activation product.