Recombinant zoster vaccine and the risk of dementia.

Background: Herpes zoster is a potential risk factor for dementia. The effectiveness of the recombinant zoster vaccine for preventing dementia is uncertain.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study used de-identified claims data from the Optum Labs Data Warehouse database from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2022, to determine whether the recombinant zoster vaccine is associated with a reduced risk of dementia.

Association between immunosuppressive medications and COVID-19 hospitalisation and death: a retrospective cohort study.

Importance: Immunocompromised status is a risk factor for severe SARS-CoV-2 infection. Little is known about how systemic corticosteroid dose and concurrent use of immunosuppressants are associated with COVID-19 outcomes.

Objective: To assess the association between corticosteroid dose/duration and concurrent immunosuppressant use on COVID-19 hospitalisation and death in the era of COVID-19 vaccinations.

Macular Edema Ranibizumab v. Intravitreal anti-inflammatory Therapy (MERIT) Trial-24-week Outcomes of Uveitic Macular Edema Retreatment.

Purpose: Evaluation of longer-term effectiveness of three intravitreal therapies (methotrexate, ranibizumab, or dexamethasone implant) for participants enrolled in the randomized comparative effectiveness trial the Macular Edema Ranibizumab versus Intravitreal anti-inflammatory Therapy (MERIT) Trial followed for24 weeks.

Design: Multicenter randomized controlled clinical trial with masked evaluation of retinal thickness and visual acuity.

Participants: Patients with persistent or recurrent uveitic macular edema.

Inhibition of choroidal osteoma progression using bisphosphonate and RANKL-inhibitory treatment.

Purpose: To describe the use of anti-osteoclastic medications (i.e., bisphosphonates and receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa beta (RANK) ligand inhibitors) in treating choroidal osteoma.

Association between in vitro susceptibility and clinical outcomes in fungal keratitis.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the association between antifungal susceptibility as measured by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and clinical outcomes in fungal keratitis.

Methods: This pre-specified secondary analysis of the Mycotic Ulcer Treatment Trial II (MUTT II) involved patients with filamentous fungal keratitis presenting to Aravind Eye Hospitals in South India. Antifungal susceptibility testing for natamycin and voriconazole was performed on all samples with positive fungal culture results according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute Guidelines.

Association Between Baseline Macular Morphologic Features on Optical Coherence Tomography and Visual Outcomes in Patients with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Disease.

Purpose: The choroidal thickening and serous retinal detachments that characterize Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease can be imaged in detail using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Whether specific qualitative and quantitative SD-OCT features at presentation were associated with visual outcomes in a randomized controlled trial comparing methotrexate to mycophenolate for steroid-sparing control of uveitis were evaluated.

Methods: An exploratory subanalysis of data from the FAST trial in which SD-OCT images from VKH participants were analyzed for presence/absence of bacillary detachments, retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) folds, and internal limiting membrane (ILM) fluctuations was performed.

Outcomes in Patients With Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Disease From the First-Line Antimetabolites for Steroid-Sparing Treatment Uveitis Trial.

Purpose: To compare the effectiveness of methotrexate (MTX) and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) in achieving corticosteroid-sparing control of uveitis in patients with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease.

Methods: A subanalysis of patients with VKH from the First-line Antimetabolites as Steroid-sparing Treatment Uveitis Trial, a randomized, observer-masked, comparative effectiveness trial, with comparisons by treatment (MTX vs MMF) and disease stage (acute vs chronic). Individuals with noninfectious uveitis were placed on a standardized corticosteroid taper and block randomized 1:1 to either 25 mg weekly oral MTX or 1.

Ocular Signs and Testing Most Compatible with Sarcoidosis-Associated Uveitis: A Latent Class Analysis.

Purpose: This study aims to explore the potential subgroups of sarcoidosis-associated uveitis (SAU) within a multicenter cohort of uveitis participants.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Participants: A cohort of 826 uveitis patients from a uveitis registry from 19 clinical centers in 12 countries between January 2011 and April 2015.

Acute neuroretinitis as a delayed manifestation of tubulointerstitial nephritis and uveitis syndrome.

Purpose: Tubulointerstitial nephritis syndrome with uveitis (TINU) is a rare, acquired syndrome characterized by interstitial nephritis with bilateral uveitis. We report a case of TINU with typical bilateral anterior uveitis complicated by an atypical, delayed-onset neuroretinitis in a 12-year old patient.

Observation: A 12-year-old female with a 21-month history of TINU featuring chronic bilateral anterior uveitis presented with one week of blurred vision in her left eye.

Trem2 promotes foamy macrophage lipid uptake and survival in atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis is driven by the expansion of cholesterol-loaded 'foamy' macrophages in the arterial intima. Factors regulating foamy macrophage differentiation and survival in plaque remain poorly understood. Here we show, using trajectory analysis of integrated single-cell RNA sequencing data and a genome-wide CRISPR screen, that triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (Trem2) is associated with foamy macrophage specification.

Locality is the strongest predictor of expert performance in image-based differentiation of bacterial and fungal corneal ulcers from India.

Purpose: This study sought to identify the sources of differential performance and misclassification error among local (Indian) and external (non-Indian) corneal specialists in identifying bacterial and fungal keratitis based on corneal photography.

Methods: This study is a secondary analysis of survey data assessing the ability of corneal specialists to identify acute bacterial versus fungal keratitis by using corneal photography. One-hundred images of 100 eyes from 100 patients with acute bacterial or fungal keratitis in South India were previously presented to an international cohort of cornea specialists for interpretation over the span of April to July 2021.

Risk of Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus Recurrence After Recombinant Zoster Vaccination.

Importance: The recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) is currently recommended for immunocompetent adults aged 50 years or older and immunocompromised adults aged 19 years or older and is effective in preventing herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO). However, questions about the safety of RZV in patients with a history of HZO remain.

Objective: To evaluate whether there is an increased risk of HZO recurrence after RZV in patients with a history of HZO.

Transcriptomic analysis of the submandibular gland under psychological stress condition.

Background: Psychological stress is associated with changes in salivary flow and composition. However, studies to show the effect of psychological stress on the transcriptome of the salivary gland are limited. This study aims to perform a transcriptomic analysis of the submandibular gland under psychological stress using a chronic restraint stress model of rats.

Immunosuppressive Medications and COVID-19 Outcomes in Patients with Noninfectious Uveitis in the Era of COVID-19 Vaccinations.

Purpose: To determine the risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, hospitalization, and death in the era of COVID-19 vaccination among patients with noninfectious uveitis (NIU) taking immunosuppressive therapies.

Design: Retrospective cohort study from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, using data from the Optum Labs Data Warehouse (OLDW) de-identified claims database.

Participants: Patients with a diagnosis of NIU from January 1, 2017, and who had ≥ 1 year of continuous enrollment in the OLDW.

Perinatal depression among teenage mothers in a tertiary care teaching hospital of Nepal: A cross-sectional study.

The teenage pregnancy has serious adverse effect on physical and mental health of mothers and infants. This cross-sectional study was aimed to assess proportion of perinatal depression and well-being of teenage mothers in Nepal. Perinatal women were evaluated using Mental Health Continuum Short Form, and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.

Risk of Noninfectious Uveitis after Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination in a United States Claims Database.

Purpose: To assess noninfectious uveitis (NIU) risk after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination in patients without a history of uveitis.

Design: A retrospective matched cohort study and self-controlled case series (SCCS) analysis using a longitudinal data asset with claims data from the OptumLabs Data Warehouse from December 11, 2020, through November 30, 2021.

Participants: The matched cohort analysis included patients continuously enrolled for 730 days before December 11, 2020, who received a COVID-19 vaccination during the study period.