Neovascular Macular Degeneration: A Review of Etiology, Risk Factors, and Recent Advances in Research and Therapy.

Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (exudative or wet AMD) is a prevalent, progressive retinal degenerative macular disease that is characterized by neovascularization of the choroid, mainly affecting the elderly population causing gradual vision impairment. Risk factors such as age, race, genetics, iris color, smoking, drinking, BMI, and diet all play a part in nvAMD's progression, with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy being the mainstay of treatment. Current therapeutic advancements slow the progression of the disease but do not cure or reverse its course.

Surgical Outcomes of Phacoemulsification Followed by iStent Implantation Versus Goniotomy With the Kahook Dual Blade in Patients With Mild Primary Open-angle Glaucoma With a Minimum of 12-Month Follow-up.

Purpose: To study surgical outcomes after combined phacoemulsification with either iStent implantation or goniotomy using the Kahook Dual Blade (KDB) with a minimum of 12 months of follow-up.

Patients And Methods: Patients with mild primary open-angle glaucoma who underwent phacoemulsification in combination with either iStent implantation or goniotomy using the KDB from 2011 to 2017 were included.

Results: In total, 48 eyes in the iStent group and 29 eyes in the KDB group were included with at least 12 months of follow-up.

Surgical outcomes of phacoemulsification/goniosynechialysis with and without endocyclophotocoagulation in patients with chronic angle closure glaucoma.

Purpose: To compare surgical outcomes of patients after phacoemulsification with goniosynechialysis (phaco/GSL) versus phaco with GSL and endocyclophotocoagulation (phaco/GSL/ECP) in patients with chronic angle closure glaucoma (CACG) through 12-month follow-up.

Methods: A retrospective, nonrandomized, comparative case series was performed. Patients with CACG who underwent phaco in combination with either GSL alone (group 1) or GSL with ECP with intracameral injection of kenalog (group 2) from 2011 to 2018 were included.

Chronic hypoxia attenuates the vasodilator efficacy of protein kinase G in fetal and adult ovine cerebral arteries.

Long-term hypoxia (LTH) attenuates nitric oxide-induced vasorelaxation in ovine middle cerebral arteries. Because cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) is an important mediator of NO signaling in vascular smooth muscle, we tested the hypothesis that LTH diminishes the ability of PKG to interact with target proteins and cause vasorelaxation. Prominent among proteins that regulate vascular tone is the large-conductance Ca-sensitive K (BK) channel, which is a substrate for PKG and is responsive to phosphorylation on multiple serine/threonine residues.

VEGF receptors mediate hypoxic remodeling of adult ovine carotid arteries.

Recent studies suggest that VEGF contributes to hypoxic remodeling of arterial smooth muscle, although hypoxia produces only transient increases in VEGF that return to normoxic levels despite sustained changes in arterial structure and function. To explore how VEGF might contribute to long-term hypoxic vascular remodeling, this study explores the hypothesis that chronic hypoxia produces sustained increases in smooth muscle VEGF receptor density that mediate long-term vascular effects of hypoxia. Carotid arteries from adult sheep maintained at sea level or altitude (3,820 m) for 110 days were harvested and denuded of endothelium.