Prevalence and risk factors of myopic macular degeneration: the Aier-SERI high myopia adult cohort.

Purpose: To assess the prevalence and risk factors of myopic macular degeneration (MMD) in young and middle-aged individuals with high myopia in Changsha, central China.

Methods: A total of 445 adults with high myopia (worse than or equal to -5.0 D) were examined between 2021 and 2023.

Efficacy and Safety of Vuong Hoat Natural Health Supplement in Managing Low Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

This clinical study aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of Vuong Hoat (VH) natural health supplement for reducing the negative impact of low back pain, improving the quality of life, and enhancing functional activities in patients with lumbar degenerative disc disease (LDD). The open-label, randomized, controlled clinical trial involved 60 patients suffering from low back pain caused by LDD. The participants were randomly assigned to either a study group (SG) comprising 30 subjects or a control group (CG) comprising 30 subjects.

Distortion-Corrected Posterior Ocular Shape in Myopic Eyes Assessed by Ultrawide OCT Detects Deformations Associated With Vision-Threatening Changes.

Purpose: To develop a quantitative tool for assessing the posterior ocular shape using widefield, volumetric optical coherence tomography (OCT) in eyes with myopia.

Methods: This observational, cross-sectional study included 178 eyes from 113 participants. Participants underwent a standardized eye examination, including ocular biometry and a custom ultrawide OCT.

Biomechanical changes occur in myopic choroidal stroma and mirror those in the adjacent sclera.

Retina-derived growth signals relayed from the choroid to the sclera cause remodeling of the extracellular scleral matrix, resulting in myopic ocular elongation. However, to the best of our knowledge, no studies have assessed changes in choroidal stromal biomechanical properties during myopia progression. Here we utilized 7 µm-resolution scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) to assess biomechanical properties (bulk modulus (K) and mass density (rho)) of choroidal stroma from guinea pig eyes with form-deprivation (FD) induced myopia.

Bruch's Membrane Opening Changes in Eyes With Myopic Macular Degeneration: AIER-SERI Adult High Myopia Study.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the choroidal thickness and the Bruch's membrane opening size and their relationship to visual acuity in eyes with myopic macular degeneration (MMD).

Methods: This was a population-based, cross-sectional study. Patients over the age of 30 years with high myopia (spherical equivalent ≤-5 diopters [D]) were recruited.

Quantitative assessment of the choroidal vasculature in myopic macular degeneration with optical coherence tomographic angiography.

Background: To assess and compare choroidal morphometric vascular parameters, using optical coherence tomographic angiography (OCTA), in highly myopic adults with and without myopic macular degeneration (MMD).

Methods: This is a clinic-based observational study of 148 eyes with axial length (AL) ≥25mm, enrolled from the high myopia clinic of the Singapore National Eye Centre. MMD was graded from fundus photographs.

In-vivo high-frequency quantitative ultrasound-derived parameters of the anterior sclera correlated with level of myopia and presence of staphyloma.

Background: A high-frequency point-of-care (POC) ultrasound instrument was used to evaluate the microstructural and biomechanical properties of the anterior sclera in vivo using parameters computed from quantitative ultrasound (QUS) methods.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, both eyes of 85 enrolled patients were scanned with the POC instrument and ultrasound data were processed to obtain QUS parameters. Pearson correlation and multi-linear regression were used to identify relationships between QUS parameters and refractive error (RE) or axial length.

Comparison of manual and artificial intelligence-automated choroidal thickness segmentation of optical coherence tomography imaging in myopic adults.

Background: Myopia affects 1.4 billion individuals worldwide. Notably, there is increasing evidence that choroidal thickness plays an important role in myopia and risk of developing myopia-related conditions.

The Spectrum of Relentless Placoid and Acute Posterior Multifocal Placoid Pigment Epitheliopathy (APMPPE): Multimodal Imaging Analysis.

Purpose: To showcase the spectrum between APMPPE and relentless placoid utilizing ultra-widefield imaging findings of a case of acute posterior multifocal placoid pigment epitheliopathy (APMPPE) progressing to relentless placoid chorioretinitis (RPC).

Methods: A 23-year-old Caucasian female presented with worsening vision in both eyes. Clinical examination and multimodal imaging modalities including fundus photos, fundus autofluorescence, fluorescein angiography (FA), indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography and angiography were utilized to diagnose APMPPE and clinically follow the patient.

Vocal fingerprinting reveals a substantially smaller global population of the Critically Endangered cao vit gibbon (Nomascus nasutus) than previously thought.

The cao vit gibbon (Nomascus nasutus) is one of the rarest primates on Earth and now only survives in a single forest patch of less than 5000 ha on the Vietnam-China border. Accurate monitoring of the last remaining population is critical to inform ongoing conservation interventions and track conservation success over time. However, traditional methods for monitoring gibbons, involving triangulation of groups from their songs, are inherently subjective and likely subject to considerable measurement errors.

ULTRA-WIDEFIELD IMAGING DETECTION RATE IN IDENTIFYING PERIPHERAL RETINAL TEARS IN SINGLE VERSUS MONTAGE OF PERIPHERAL STEERING.

Purpose: To compare the detection rate of orthogonal, directed peripheral steering, and automontaged images with ultra-widefield imaging and the factors influencing the ability to identify retinal breaks.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Methods: Three hundred and seventy-six treatment-naive eyes (349 patients) that underwent laser retinopexy for retinal breaks between 2015 and 2021 were included.

Ultrasound Assessment of Gaze-induced Posterior Eyewall Deformation in Highly Myopic Eyes.

Purpose: To establish a quantitative metric of posterior eyewall deformability in different directions of gaze in highly myopic eyes with and without posterior staphyloma.

Methods: A prospective study was performed on 53 highly myopic patients (106 eyes). Ultrasound scans were acquired in primary, up, downward, nasal, and temporal gazes.

How Myopia and Glaucoma Influence the Biomechanical Susceptibility of the Optic Nerve Head.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess optic nerve head (ONH) deformations following acute intraocular pressure (IOP) elevations and horizontal eye movements in control eyes, highly myopic (HM) eyes, HM eyes with glaucoma (HMG), and eyes with pathologic myopia (PM) alone or PM with staphyloma (PM + S).

Methods: We studied 282 eyes, comprising of 99 controls (between +2.75 and -2.

Identifying Content for an Item Bank to Measure the Quality-of-Life Impact of Myopia Refractive Interventions.

Purpose: To report on the content generation and item refinement phases for a myopia refractive intervention-specific quality-of-life (QoL) item bank that will be operationalized using computerized adaptive testing.

Methods: Myopia refractive intervention-specific QoL domains and items were generated from (1) a literature search of existing refractive-intervention QoL questionnaires; (2) semistructured interviews with myopic patients corrected using spectacles, contact lenses and/or refractive surgery (n = 32); (3) and myopia experts (n = 9) recruited from the Singapore National Eye Centre. After a thematic analysis, items were systematically refined and tested using cognitive interviews with 24 additional patients with corrected myopia.

Quadrant Asymmetry in Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Metrics in Ischemic Versus Non-Ischemic Central Retinal Vein Occlusion Eyes.

Purpose: To determine whether quadrant asymmetry (QA) of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) metrics differs between non-ischemic versus ischemic central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO).

Methods: Fifty-eight eyes (21 non-ischemic, 10 ischemic CRVO, and 27 contralateral control eyes) underwent 3 × 3 mm spectral-domain OCTA scans with quantification of the superficial retinal layer vessel length density (VLD) and perfusion density (PD). QA, defined as the maximum-minus-minimum value among four parafoveal Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) quadrants, was compared by linear regression including fixed effects for each eye.

Applications of Genomics and Transcriptomics in Precision Medicine for Myopia Control or Prevention.

Myopia is a globally emerging concern accompanied by multiple medical and socio-economic burdens with no well-established causal treatment to control thus far. The study of the genomics and transcriptomics of myopia treatment is crucial to delineate disease pathways and provide valuable insights for the design of precise and effective therapeutics. A strong understanding of altered biochemical pathways and underlying pathogenesis leading to myopia may facilitate early diagnosis and treatment of myopia, ultimately leading to the development of more effective preventive and therapeutic measures.

High-frequency ultrasound point-of-care device to quantify myopia-induced microstructural changes in the anterior sclera.

Purpose: To develop a point-of-care (POC) device using high-frequency ultrasound (US) for evaluating microstructural changes in the anterior sclera associated with myopia.

Methods: The proposed POC device must satisfy four primary requirements for effective clinical use: the measurement component is handheld; the software must be simple and provide real-time feedback; patient safety and health data security requirements set forth by relevant governing bodies must be satisfied and the measurement data must have sufficient signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and repeatability. Radiofrequency (RF) echo data acquired by the POC device will be processed using our quantitative US methods to characterise tissue microstructure and biomechanical properties.

Deep learning system to predict the 5-year risk of high myopia using fundus imaging in children.

Our study aims to identify children at risk of developing high myopia for timely assessment and intervention, preventing myopia progression and complications in adulthood through the development of a deep learning system (DLS). Using a school-based cohort in Singapore comprising of 998 children (aged 6-12 years old), we train and perform primary validation of the DLS using 7456 baseline fundus images of 1878 eyes; with external validation using an independent test dataset of 821 baseline fundus images of 189 eyes together with clinical data (age, gender, race, parental myopia, and baseline spherical equivalent (SE)). We derive three distinct algorithms - image, clinical and mix (image + clinical) models to predict high myopia development (SE ≤ -6.

Pathologic myopia in highly myopic patients with high axial anisomyopia.

Purpose: To determine prevalence of anisomyopia (axial length (AL) difference ≥2.5 mm) among high myopes ((HMs), defined by spherical equivalent of ≤6.0 diopters or AL ≥ 26.

Choroidal Thickness in Early Postnatal Guinea Pigs Predicts Subsequent Naturally Occurring and Form-Deprivation Myopia.

Purpose: To identify choroidal characteristics associated with susceptibility to development of naturally occurring and experimentally induced myopia.

Methods: We compared choroidal properties between pigmented and albino guinea pig (GP) strains. Biometry, cycloplegic refractive error (RE), and eye wall sublayer thickness were measured from 171 GPs at postnatal day (P)6, 14, and 28.

NODULAR EPIRETINAL MÜLLER CELL GLIOSIS IN THE FOVEA.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to report the findings of a hyperreflective nodular epiretinal gliosis observed with optical coherence tomography presumed to be due to subclinical hyaloidal traction causing Mϋller cell cone gliosis.

Methods: Retrospective, observational case series.

Results: Six eyes of six patients (mean age: 57 years, range 35-81 years) presented with a nodular epiretinal gliosis and had an average follow-up interval of 26 months (range 1-82 months).