Extending Peripheral Retinal Vascularization in Retinopathy of Prematurity Through Regulation of VEGF Signaling.

Purpose: Experimental studies provide evidence that regulation of VEGF receptor-2 signaling in endothelial cells orders cell divisions and extends developmental angiogenesis while inhibiting pathologic intravitreal angiogenesis and has relevance to retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). We tested the hypothesis that intravitreal anti-VEGF would extend vascularization into peripheral avascular retina in human type 1 ROP compared with controls.

Design: Retrospective, nonrandomized treatment comparison.

FLUORESCENCE LIFETIME IMAGING OPHTHALMOSCOPY IN PATIENTS WITH MACULAR TELANGIECTASIA TYPE 2 WITH AND WITHOUT DIABETES.

Purpose: Macular telangiectasia type 2 (MacTel) is a vision-altering retinal disease with a high prevalence of diabetes. Differences between patients with MacTel with and without diabetes were investigated using fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO).

Methods: Eighty-six patients with MacTel (59 ± 12 years) were included.

iPSC-derived retinal pigmented epithelial cells from patients with macular telangiectasia show decreased mitochondrial function.

Patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) provide a powerful tool for identifying cellular and molecular mechanisms of disease. Macular telangiectasia type 2 (MacTel) is a rare, late-onset degenerative retinal disease with an extremely heterogeneous genetic architecture, lending itself to the use of iPSCs. Whole-exome sequencing screens and pedigree analyses have identified rare causative mutations that account for less than 5% of cases.

Gut microbiome and plasma metabolome changes in rats after oral gavage of nanoparticles: sensitive indicators of possible adverse health effects.

Background: The oral uptake of nanoparticles is an important route of human exposure and requires solid models for hazard assessment. While the systemic availability is generally low, ingestion may not only affect gastrointestinal tissues but also intestinal microbes. The gut microbiota contributes essentially to human health, whereas gut microbial dysbiosis is known to promote several intestinal and extra-intestinal diseases.

LONGITUDINAL FLUORESCENCE LIFETIME IMAGING OPHTHALMOSCOPY ANALYSIS IN PATIENTS WITH MACULAR TELANGIECTASIA TYPE 2 (MacTel).

Purpose: Fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) shows characteristic patterns in macular telangiectasia Type 2 (MacTel). This study investigates FLIO changes over time to better understand disease progression.

Methods: Thirty-three patients with MacTel (age 60 ± 15 years) were followed at the Moran Eye Center with a prototype Heidelberg Engineering FLIO.

Comparing Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Ophthalmoscopy in Atrophic Areas of Retinal Diseases.

Purpose: Fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) is a non-invasive imaging modality to investigate the human retina. This study compares FLIO lifetimes in different degenerative retinal diseases.

Methods: Included were eyes with retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and/or photoreceptor atrophy due to Stargardt disease (n = 66), pattern dystrophy (n = 18), macular telangiectasia type 2 (n = 49), retinitis pigmentosa (n = 28), choroideremia (n = 26), and geographic atrophy (n = 32) in age-related macular degeneration, as well as 37 eyes of 37 age-matched healthy controls.

Fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy: autofluorescence imaging and beyond.

Fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy, FLIO, has gained large interest in the scientific community in the recent years. It is a noninvasive imaging modality that has been shown to provide additional information to conventional imaging modalities. The FLIO device is based on a Heidelberg Engineering Spectralis system.

Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) in Patients with Choroideremia.

Purpose: To provide a detailed characterization of choroideremia (CHM) using fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) and to provide a deeper understanding of disease-related changes and progression.

Methods: Twenty-eight eyes of 14 patients with genetically confirmed CHM (mean age, 28 ± 14 years) and 14 age-matched healthy subjects were investigated in this study. FLIO images of a 30° retinal field were collected at the Moran Eye Center using a Heidelberg Engineering FLIO device.

Autofluorescence Lifetimes Measured with Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) Are Affected by Age, but Not by Pigmentation or Gender.

Purpose: Fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) is a novel modality to investigate the human retina. This study aims to characterize the effects of age, pigmentation, and gender in FLIO.

Methods: A total of 97 eyes from 97 healthy subjects (mean age 37 ± 18 years, range 9-85 years) were investigated in this study.

Fundus Autofluorescence Lifetimes and Spectral Features of Soft Drusen and Hyperpigmentation in Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

Purpose: To investigate the autofluorescence lifetimes as well as spectral characteristics of soft drusen and retinal hyperpigmentation in age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Methods: Forty-three eyes with nonexudative AMD were included in this study. Fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO), which detects autofluorescence decay over time in the short (SSC) and long (LSC) wavelength channel, was performed.

FLUORESCENCE LIFETIME IMAGING OPHTHALMOSCOPY (FLIO) PATTERNS IN CLINICALLY UNAFFECTED CHILDREN OF MACULAR TELANGIECTASIA TYPE 2 (MACTEL) PATIENTS.

Purpose: Macular telangiectasia Type 2 (MacTel) is an inherited retinal disease following an autosomal dominant pattern with late onset and reduced penetrance. Fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) enhances diagnosis by showing distinct changes in MacTel. This study investigates FLIO-associated changes in clinically unaffected family members.

Serine and Lipid Metabolism in Macular Disease and Peripheral Neuropathy.

Background: Identifying mechanisms of diseases with complex inheritance patterns, such as macular telangiectasia type 2, is challenging. A link between macular telangiectasia type 2 and altered serine metabolism has been established previously.

Methods: Through exome sequence analysis of a patient with macular telangiectasia type 2 and his family members, we identified a variant in encoding a subunit of serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT).

ABSENCE OF MACULAR DEGENERATION IN A PATIENT WITH ACERULOPLASMINEMIA.

Purpose: To describe the clinical, histological, electrophysiologic, and multimodal imaging findings in a 76-year-old patient with aceruloplasminemia with low genetic risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Methods: Clinical examination as well as multimodal imaging including fundus photography, optical coherence tomography, fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy imaging, and full-field and multifocal electroretinography were performed on one patient with aceruloplasminemia. The ceruloplasmin gene was sequenced to confirm a known mutation.

Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) in Eyes With Pigment Epithelial Detachments Due to Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

Purpose: To investigate fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) in neovascular AMD and pigment epithelial detachments (PEDs).

Methods: A total of 46 eyes with PEDs (>350 μm) as well as age-matched healthy controls were included in this study. We found 28 eyes showed neovascular AMD (nvAMD), and 17 had nonneovascular (dry) AMD (dAMD).

Imaging of Hydroxychloroquine Toxicity with Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Ophthalmoscopy.

Purpose: To investigate the impact of retinal toxicity from hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) on fundus autofluorescence lifetimes using fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO).

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Participants: Twenty-four eyes of 12 patients with definite HCQ toxicity, 31 eyes of 16 clinically normal patients at high risk of developing HCQ toxicity (taking HCQ longer than 5 years), and 16 eyes of 8 clinically normal patients at low risk of developing HCQ toxicity (taking HCQ fewer than 5 years), as well as 22 age-matched healthy subjects.

Ocular Carotenoid Status in Health and Disease.

Retinal carotenoids are dietary nutrients that uniquely protect the eye from light damage and various retinal pathologies. Their antioxidative properties protect the eye from many retinal diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration. As many retinal diseases are accompanied by low carotenoid levels, accurate noninvasive assessment of carotenoid status can help ophthalmologists identify the patients most likely to benefit from carotenoid supplementation.

Bleaching effects and fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy.

This study investigates the influence of photopigment bleaching on autofluorescence lifetimes in the fundus in 21 young healthy volunteers. Three measurements of 30° retinal fields in two spectral channels (SSC: 498-560 nm, LSC: 560-720 nm) were obtained for each volunteer using fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO). After dark-adaptation by wearing a custom-made lightproof mask for 30 minutes, the first FLIO-measurement was recorded (dark-adapted state).

Review of clinical approaches in fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (Erratum).

This erratum corrects an error in "Review of clinical approaches in fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy".

Review of clinical approaches in fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy.

Autofluorescence-based imaging techniques have become very important in the ophthalmological field. Being noninvasive and very sensitive, they are broadly used in clinical routines. Conventional autofluorescence intensity imaging is largely influenced by the strong fluorescence of lipofuscin, a fluorophore that can be found at the level of the retinal pigment epithelium.

Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Ophthalmoscopy: A Novel Way to Assess Macular Telangiectasia Type 2.

Purpose: Macular Telangiectasia Type 2 (MacTel) is an uncommon, late-onset complex retinal disease that leads to central vision loss. No causative gene(s) have been identified so far, resulting in a challenging clinical diagnostic dilemma because retinal changes of early stages are often subtle. The objective of this study was to investigate the benefit of fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) for retinal imaging in patients with MacTel.

Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) of Macular Pigment.

Purpose: To describe different patterns of macular pigment (MP) seen in fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) and to analyze ex vivo fluorescence characteristics of carotenoids.

Methods: A total of 31 eyes of young healthy subjects, 4 eyes from patients with albinism, 36 eyes with macular telangiectasia type 2 (MacTel), 24 eyes with retinitis pigmentosa, and 1 eye with a macular hole were included in this clinic-based, cross-sectional study. All subjects underwent Heidelberg Engineering FLIO and MP measurements (dual-wavelength autofluorescence).

Patterns of Fundus Autofluorescence Lifetimes In Eyes of Individuals With Nonexudative Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

Purpose: To investigate fundus autofluorescence (FAF) lifetimes in patients with nonexudative AMD.

Methods: A total of 150 eyes of 110 patients (mean age: 73.2 ± 10.