Safety and effectiveness of the fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant (ILUVIEN): 3-year results from the European IRISS registry study.

Background: The ILUVIEN Registry Safety Study was a multicentre, open-label, non-randomised, observational, phase 4 study designed to assess the safety and effectiveness of the fluocinolone acetonide (FAc) implant in all indications in real-world practices in Europe.

Methods: The study included data collected prospectively and retrospectively. Patients receiving FAc implants between 2013 and 2017 were included and monitored until the last patient reached ≥3 years of follow-up.

Towards an exposure narrative for metals and arsenic in historically contaminated Ni refinery soils: Relationships between speciation, bioavailability, and bioaccessibility.

Archived soils contaminated with Ni, Cu, Co, and As from legacy operations of a nickel refinery at Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada were speciated using mineral liberation analysis. Four Ni minerals were identified as fingerprint compounds of the historical refinery emissions. Cu and Co were present in solid solution in these minerals due to their presence in the refinery's feed.

Changes in intraocular pressure after intravitreal fluocinolone acetonide (ILUVIEN): real-world experience in three European countries.

Aims: The ILUVIEN Registry Safety Study is an ongoing, multicentre, open-label, observational study collecting real-world data on the safety and effectiveness of the 0.2 µg/day fluocinolone acetonide (FAc) implant in patients treated according to the European label requirements.

Methods: Patients included in this analysis were treated for the licensed indication of chronic diabetic macular oedema (cDMO; that is, DMO that persists or recurs despite treatment).

Head-to-head comparison of ranibizumab PRN versus single-dose dexamethasone for branch retinal vein occlusion (COMRADE-B).

Purpose: To compare the efficacy and safety of ranibizumab 0.5 mg versus dexamethasone 0.7 mg according to their European labels in macular oedema secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) in a 6-month, phase IIIb, randomized trial.

Safety and Biosimilarity of iorLeukoCIM Compared to Neupogen Based on Toxicity, Pharmacodynamic, and Pharmacokinetic Studies in the Sprague-Dawley Rat.

This study examined the safety, pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic similarity of the human recombinant filgrastim products iorLeukoCIM and Neupogen following a 28-day repeated subcutaneous dose administration in male and female Sprague-Dawley rats with a 14-day recovery period. Safety profiling was based on clinical observations, clinical pathology, and pathology findings for control rats dosed with vehicle and rats dosed either with 15, 75, and 150 μg/kg of iorLeukoCIM or with 150 μg/kg of Neupogen. The major adverse treatment-related clinical finding was mild to severe swelling of the hock-joint (tarsal joint) and hind limb, alone or accompanied with lameness which was more prominent in males and which had a similar frequency of occurrence for both iorLeukoCIM and Neupogen.

Intravitreal bevacizumab injections for diabetic macular edema - predictors of response: a retrospective study.

Background: Outcomes of intravitreal antivascular endothelial growth factor injections are variable among patients with diabetic macular edema (DME). The aim of this study was to determine the ocular and systemic predictors of DME response to intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB).

Methods: Retrospective review over 2 years of 78 eyes from 54 patients.

Sutureless 25-Gauge Pars Plana Vitrectomy Combined with Retropupillary Fixation of an Iris-Claw Intraocular Lens.

Background: The surgical case of a dropped intraocular lens inside the vitreous cavity constitutes a real challenge for the operating surgeon. Herein, we describe a case series where an alternative optical rehabilitation technique for late intraocular lens-bag complex dislocation has been used.

Methods: A modern vitrectomy device was used to remove the capsule with the dropped intraocular lens using sutureless 25-gauge pars plana vitrectomy.

Raised Intraocular Pressure in Nonjuvenile Idiopathic Arthritis-Uveitis Children: Risk Factors and Effect on Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer.

Purpose: To determine risk factors for intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation and glaucoma in children with nonjuvenile idiopathic arthritis-related uveitis and any IOP-related changes in the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness.

Patients And Methods: Clinical data were collected from children attending a tertiary referral uveitis clinic between May 2010 and October 2012. We assigned 206 eyes of 103 children into 32 normal eyes, 108 normotensive uveitics (NU), 41 hypertensive uveitics (HU: raised IOP without glaucomatous disc), and 25 glaucomatous uveitics (GU: raised IOP with glaucomatous disc).

Long-term Outcomes of Rituximab Therapy in Ocular Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis: Impact on Localized and Nonlocalized Disease.

Purpose: To evaluate the long-term outcomes of rituximab (RTX) treatment in patients with ocular granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) with localized or generalized disease.

Design: Retrospective cohort.

Participants: Thirty-seven patients with ocular GPA receiving RTX in a multidisciplinary vasculitis clinic between 2004 and 2013.

Treatment of diabetic maculopathy.

Diabetic maculopathy is an important cause of severe sight impairment. There has been a significant evolution in its treatment over the past decade and laser treatment is now largely being superseded by intravitreal injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agents or corticosteroids.

Bilateral sequential non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy following repeat influenza vaccination.

A 68-year-old man developed bilateral sequential non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy, each episode occurring with a close temporal relationship to influenza vaccination.

Safety and biosimilarity of ior(®) EPOCIM compared with Eprex(®) based on toxicologic, pharmacodynamic, and pharmacokinetic studies in the Sprague-Dawley rat.

This study examined the safety, pharmacodynamic (PD), and pharmacokinetic (PK) biosimilarity of the human recombinant erythropoietin (EPO) products ior(®) EPOCIM and Eprex(®) following a 28-day repeated intravenous dose administration in male and female Sprague-Dawley rats with a 14-day recovery period. Safety profiling was based on clinical observations, clinical pathology, and pathology findings for control rats dosed with vehicle and rats dosed either with 30, 300, and 600 I.U.

Birdshot chorioretinopathy.

Purpose Of Review: Birdshot chorioretinopathy remains incompletely understood, but new insights into its pathogenesis have been reported recently, and treatment and monitoring options have also expanded. Central visual acuity may remain good until the late stages of the disease, but loss of visual field and peripheral retinal function is common.

Recent Findings: The underlying pathogenesis of the disease has long been believed to be T-cell driven, but examination of the IL-17 pathway has now further refined the potential underlying mechanism.

Long-term clinical outcome and causes of vision loss in patients with uveitis.

Purpose: To evaluate the long-term clinical and functional outcome, risks, and causes of vision loss and burden of disease among patients with uveitis.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Participants: The study included 1076 patients diagnosed with uveitis who attended the uveitis clinic at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, United Kingdom, between 2011 and 2013.

Evaluation of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in eyes with hypertensive uveitis.

Importance: Uveitic glaucoma is among the most common causes of irreversible visual loss in uveitis. However, glaucoma detection can be obscured by inflammatory changes.

Objective: To determine whether retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) measurement can be used to detect glaucoma in uveitic eyes with elevated intraocular pressure (IOP).

Treatment with repeat dexamethasone implants results in long-term disease control in eyes with noninfectious uveitis.

Purpose: To describe the long-term outcome of eyes with uveitis after repeated treatment with dexamethasone implants (Ozurdex; Allergan, Inc., Irvine, CA).

Design: Retrospective, observational case series.

Clinical and imaging features predictive of orbital granulomatosis with polyangiitis and the risk of systemic involvement.

Objective: Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), previously Wegener's granulomatosis, requires prompt diagnosis and systemic review to exclude life-threatening disease. However, early diagnosis of orbital GPA may be difficult because anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) and anti-PR3 antibody screening can be negative at presentation and orbital biopsies taken for diagnosis may not show the classic features of GPA. This study was designed to compare GPA with other causes of orbital inflammation and to identify the presenting clinical and imaging features most likely to predict GPA and its systemic spread.

Uveitis as a Result of MAP Kinase Pathway Inhibition.

We report the case of a patient treated with dabrafenib and trametinib (mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway inhibitors) for stage 3b cutaneous melanoma who developed bilateral uveitis. Although there have been reports of ocular side effects with this class of drugs, uveitis has not been previously reported to the best of our knowledge. This case indicates the wide range of side effects that can be seen with the newer targeted biological therapies.

Outcomes of changing immunosuppressive therapy after treatment failure in patients with noninfectious uveitis.

Purpose: To evaluate the outcomes of changing immunosuppressive therapy for noninfectious uveitis after failure.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Participants: Patients with noninfectious uveitis managed at 2 tertiary uveitis clinics in the United Kingdom and Australia.

Birdshot uveitis: current and emerging treatment options.

Birdshot chorioretinopathy is a relatively uncommon subtype of idiopathic posterior uveitis with distinct clinical characteristics and a strong genetic association with the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA)-A29 allele. The diagnosis remains clinical and is based on the presence of typical clinical features, including multiple, distinctive, hypopigmented choroidal lesions throughout the fundus. The long-term visual prognosis of this disorder, however, remains guarded - central visual acuity can be preserved until late in the disease and it is not uncommon for patients to receive inadequate immunosuppressive treatment, leading to a poor long-term outcome in which peripheral retinal damage eventually leads to visual deterioration.

Successful corticosteroid-sparing effect of rituximab in the treatment of refractory idiopathic orbital inflammatory disease.

Idiopathic orbital inflammatory disease (IOID) is an idiopathic inflammatory process within the orbit that can result in permanent visual impairment. Although high-dose oral corticosteroids are currently the mainstay of therapy, their long-term usage can cause significant toxicity. We present a case of IOID that was successfully treated with the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab following failed steroid sparing with conventional second-line immunosuppressive agents.

Long-term clinical and anatomic outcome of birdshot chorioretinopathy.

Importance: Birdshot chorioretinopathy is a chronic intraocular inflammatory disease with no uniform method to document long-term disease progression or response to treatment.

Objective: To examine the long-term visual, clinical, and anatomic outcomes of patients with birdshot chorioretinopathy.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A retrospective evaluation of 46 patients with birdshot chorioretinopathy treated at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, England, was conducted.

Can rituximab induce long-term disease remission in patients with intra-ocular non-infectious inflammation?

Treatment of non-infectious uveitis is based primarily on the use of systemic corticosteroids and second-line immunosuppressive drugs. However, their extensive side effect profile, particularly for steroids, has led to the increased use of other immunosuppressive drugs, as sparing capacity agents. Rituximab is an anti-CD20 chimeric antibody, often given as a single course of 2 infusions, resulting in complete depletion of peripheral mature B cells.

Local therapies for inflammatory eye disease in translation: past, present and future.

Despite their side-effects and the advent of systemic immunosuppressives and biologics, the use of corticosteroids remains in the management of patients with uveitis, particularly when inflammation is associated with systemic disease or when bilateral ocular disease is present. The use of topical corticosteroids as local therapy for anterior uveitis is well-established, but periocular injections of corticosteroid can also be used to control mild or moderate intraocular inflammation. More recently, intraocular corticosteroids such as triamcinolone and steroid-loaded vitreal inserts and implants have been found to be effective, including in refractory cases.