Comparative evaluation of 16S rRNA metagenomic sequencing in the diagnosis and understanding of bacterial endophthalmitis.

Objective: To evaluate the usefulness of metagenomic analysis in the search for causative organisms of bacterial endophthalmitis.

Methods And Analysis: Twenty-one consecutive treatment-naïve patients (13 men and 8 women; mean age, 60.8±19.

Mitochondrial DNA as a Biomarker for Acute Central Serous Chorioretinopathy: A Case-Control Study.

Background: The literature suggests that stress may play a pivotal role in the precipitation of acute central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) because chorioretinal integrity can be affected by the psychosocial state of the patient, indicating the need for a biomarker. Not only physical stress but also psychological stress causes many types of physical disorders. However, little is known about the pathophysiology of stress-induced disease.

Rubicon regulates A2E-induced autophagy impairment in the retinal pigment epithelium implicated in the pathology of age-related macular degeneration.

Waste product deposition and light stress in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) are crucial factors in the pathogenesis of various retinal degenerative diseases, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of vision loss in elderly individuals worldwide. Given that autophagy in the RPE suppresses waste accumulation, determining the molecular mechanism by which autophagy is compromised in degeneration is necessary. Using polarized human RPE sheets, we found that bis-retinoid N-retinyl-N-retinylidene ethanolamine (A2E), a major toxic fluorophore of lipofuscin, causes significant impairment of autophagy and the simultaneous upregulation of Rubicon, a negative regulator of autophagy.

Chronological Observations of Iris Flocculi in a Japanese Family with Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm and Dissections.

Iris flocculi, a type of hereditary iris pigment epithelial cyst, have been reported in association with smooth muscle α-2 actin (ACTA2) gene as the causative gene of familial thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissections (FTAAD). The purpose of the report was to examine morphological changes in the shape of flocculi and iris features over time by comparing infants to adults with FTAAD combined with iris flocculi. A Japanese family with FTAAD and bilateral iris flocculi and the Arg149Cys gene mutation was included.

Cornea Findings of Spectral Domain Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography in Uveitic Eyes of Various Etiologies.

Purpose: To evaluate the morphologic appearance of keratic precipitates (KPs) with spectral domain anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) for the diagnosis of uveitic eyes of various etiologies.

Methods: In all, 153 eyes of 153 patients with different types of uveitis were examined to investigate the morphologic appearance of KPs. The study included 63 eyes with herpetic iridocyclitis/endotheliitis, 58 eyes with ocular sarcoidosis, 5 eyes with Fuchs heterochromic iridocyclitis, and 27 eyes with masquerade syndrome with primary intraocular lymphoma (PIOL).

Conjunctival dysbiosis in mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma.

To investigate the conjunctival microbiota and the association between the development of conjunctival mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma and dysbiosis, DNA samples were collected from 25 conjunctival MALT lymphoma patients and 25 healthy controls. To compare the microbiota, samples were collected from the following four body locations: conjunctiva, meibomian gland, periocular skin and hand. Extracted DNA was analyzed by 16S rRNA sequences, and libraries were sequenced on an Illumina MiSeq sequencer.

Rare Histological Type of Adenoma of the Nonpigmented Ciliary Epithelium.

We report the rare case of an adenoma of the nonpigmented ciliary epithelium (NPCE). A 67-year-old healthy man presented with a regularly shaped and nonpigmented mass at the iris root of his right eye. His best-corrected visual acuity was 1.

Chronic Retinal Necrosis Severely Complicated by Neovascular Glaucoma: A Case Report.

Background: Chronic retinal necrosis (CRN) is a rare chronic granular necrotizing retinitis that was first described in 2013. CRN is characterized by intraocular inflammation accompanied by occlusive vasculitis, granular retinitis, and slowly progressing necrosis around the retina in a host with partial immune dysfunction. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is reported to be a causative agent.

Choroidal nevus in an eye with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy.

Purpose: To report an eye with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) and a choroidal nevus.

Methods: This is an observational case report.

Results: A healthy 69-year-old woman was referred to the Osaka University Hospital with a diagnosis of a macular tumor.

Choroidal excavation in eye with normal tension glaucoma.

Purpose: To report the case of an eye with normal tension glaucoma and a choroidal excavation.

Methods: This is an observational case report.

Results: A 59-year-old woman with normal tension glaucoma had a choroidal excavation in the left eye.

Vitreous hemorrhage caused by ruptured retinal macroaneurysm.

Purpose: To report the clinical findings of 7 patients with a vitreous hemorrhage (VH) caused by a ruptured retinal macroaneurysm.

Methods: Interventional case series. The medical records of 7 patients with a VH caused by a ruptured macroaneurysm and treated by either medication or vitrectomy were reviewed.

Additional anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy for eyes with a retinal pigment epithelial tear after the initial therapy.

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of additional anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy for eyes with a retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) tear after anti-VEGF therapy and treated with additional anti-VEGF injections for recurrent or persistent exudative change.

Patients And Methods: Ten eyes (10 patients) followed up for >12 months after a recurrent RPE tear were evaluated retrospectively. The RPE tears on fundus autofluorescence images were measured and changes in the best-corrected visual acuity were evaluated.