Publications by authors named "Ta-Ching Chen"

Article Synopsis
  • * Researchers analyzed data from 39 RP patients, examining relationships between visual acuity, OCT, fundus autofluorescence imaging, and microperimetric measures, ultimately identifying critical parameters that impact vision loss.
  • * A visual function index was created based on the count of deep scotoma points in the parafoveal inner ring, revealing that patients with four or more scotoma points are likely to experience significant vision impairment.
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Article Synopsis
  • The paper looks at how inherited retinal diseases (IRD) are diagnosed and treated in the Asia-Pacific region.
  • They surveyed 36 centers about their practices, including how they collect patient information and provide help for low vision.
  • The results showed there are important gaps, like many centers not having a database for patients, not enough genetic counselors, and a need for better support for low-vision rehabilitation.
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Objectives: To assess the specific features of myopic traction maculopathy (MTM) in the context of myopic macular atrophy (MA). The evolution, surgical considerations, optimal surgical procedures, and results were studied.

Methods: Retrospective, consecutive cases collection was performed for highly myopic eyes with MA (category 4, the classification system of META-analysis for Pathologic Myopia).

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Background: To elucidate the relationship between inherited retinal disease, visual acuity and refractive error development in Asian patients.

Subjects: Five hundred phakic eyes with refractive data were analysed in this retrospective cohort. Diseases were categorized by clinical phenotypes, and the prevalent genotypes identified in the Taiwan Inherited Retinal Degeneration Project were analysed.

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Background: Biallelic pathogenic variants in USH2A lead to Usher syndrome or non-syndromic retinitis pigmentosa, and shown to have geographical and ethnical distribution in previous studies. This study provided a deeper understanding of the detailed clinical features using multimodal imaging, genetic spectrum, and genotype-phenotype correlations of USH2A-related retinal dystrophies in Taiwan.

Results: In our cohort, the mean age at first visit was 47.

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Background: To identify genotypes associated with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and investigate the associations between genotype variations and anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treatment response.

Methods: This observational, retrospective, case series study enrolled patients diagnosed with nAMD who received anti-VEGF treatment in National Taiwan University Hospital with at least one-year follow-up between 2012 and 2020. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted on enrolled patients and controls.

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Purpose: To describe the clinical, electrophysiological and genetic spectrum of inherited retinal diseases associated with variants in the PRPH2 gene.

Methods: A total of 241 patients from 168 families across 15 sites in 9 countries with pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in PRPH2 were included. Records were reviewed for age at symptom onset, visual acuity, full-field ERG, fundus colour photography, fundus autofluorescence (FAF), and SD-OCT.

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The diagnosis of inherited retinal degeneration (IRD) is challenging owing to its phenotypic and genotypic complexity. Clinical information is important before a genetic diagnosis is made. Metabolomics studies the entire picture of bioproducts, which are determined using genetic codes and biological reactions.

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This study aimed to investigate the characteristic choroidal changes in patients with diabetic retinopathy and identify factors affecting choroidal thickness (CTh), choroidal vascular index (CVI), and choriocapillaris flow. We retrospectively analyzed 79 eyes of 48 patients with diabetes between August 2021 and February 2022. We collected laboratory data, including HbA1c, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, triglyceride, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels.

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Article Synopsis
  • The Asia-Pacific region, housing about 60% of the world's population, lacks extensive knowledge about hereditary eye diseases, necessitating a regional collaboration to enhance precision medicine for affected patients.
  • The Asia-Pacific Inherited Eye Disease (APIED) network, consisting of 55 members from 35 centers across 12 countries, aims to address these gaps in understanding inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) by bringing together experts in the field.
  • The network's goals include improving genetic diagnosis of IRDs, standardizing phenotyping practices, and creating high-quality patient registries to support care and research in both regional and international contexts.*
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Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been recognized as prevalent contributors to the development of inner retinal injuries including optic neuropathies such as glaucoma, non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, traumatic optic neuropathy, and Leber hereditary optic neuropathy, among others. This underscores the pivotal significance of oxidative stress in the damage inflicted upon retinal tissue. To combat ROS-related challenges, this study focuses on creating an injectable and tissue-adhesive hydrogel with tailored antioxidant properties for retinal applications.

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Purpose: To analyze the associations between development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and regular use of aspirin or non-aspirin non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NA-NSAIDs).

Methods: We retrospectively recruited individuals who received ≥28-day prescriptions of aspirin or NA-NSAIDs exclusively between 2008 and 2017 in one tertiary center as regular users. Non-regular users were free from regular use of any anti-inflammatory drugs and were matched to regular users in terms of age, sex, and visit date at a ratio of 1-4:1.

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Introduction: To investigate the longitudinal changes in renal function and associated factors after intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) administration in diabetic macular edema (DME).

Methods: A total of 108 patients who had received intravitreal ranibizumab or aflibercept for DME and had follow-up visits for at least 2 years in one hospital were retrospectively enrolled. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at baseline and during the follow-up period and receipt of any renal replacement therapy were recorded.

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Background: Subretinal injection (SRI) has become an important surgical method for treating vitreoretinal diseases. Nevertheless, the optimisation of bleb formation in SRI, for the attainment of desired therapeutic outcomes, still requires further investigation.

Methods: This study analysed the influence of surgical parameters on SRI using a robotic setup.

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Background: Optic neuritis (ON) is an inflammatory disease of optic nerve. The distinct etiologies of ON significantly influence its clinical manifestation, neuroimaging findings, and visual outcomes. However, the clinical characteristics might be influenced by the racial differences.

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Article Synopsis
  • Pathogenic changes in the WFS1 gene can lead to either recessive Wolfram syndrome or dominant Wolfram-like syndrome, both associated with optic atrophy and hearing loss.
  • Scientists created induced pluripotent stem cells from the blood of a female patient with a specific WFS1 variant using the Sendai virus delivery system.
  • These stem cells displayed normal characteristics and the ability to differentiate into various cell types, making them a valuable tool for studying the causes of blindness and deafness linked to WFS1 mutations.*
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Pathogenic variants of OPA1 have been associated with autosomal dominant optic atrophy (DOA), leading to optic, auditory, and other sensorineural neuropathies and myopathies. Using the Sendai virus delivery system, we generated induced pluripotent stem cells from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of a female patient with the OPA1 pathogenic variant c.1468T>C (p.

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This study investigated the impact of retinal fluid tolerance on retinal thickness and visual acuity in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration after 18 months of treatment using intravitreal aflibercept. This retrospective study was based on the medical records of 90 eyes presenting persistent or recurrent retinal fluid retention after 3 months of aflibercept loading injections. We defined the fluid tolerance ratio as the sum of fluid-tolerance duration divided by the total duration of retinal fluid observed throughout the follow-up period.

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the genetic and clinical characteristics of eyes shut homolog (EYS)-associated retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional observational study of 36 patients with EYS-associated autosomal recessive RP (arRP).

Results: The gene sequencing results revealed that c.

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Purpose: To compare 2-year treatment outcomes of ranibizumab using treat-and-extend (T&E) or pro re nata (PRN) regimens for diabetic macular edema (DME) in clinical settings.

Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 34 patients (34 eyes) with DME treated with ranibizumab using the T&E regimen, and 34 patients (34 eyes) treated with ranibizumab using the PRN regimen and matched to cases in the treat-and-extend group by baseline best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central foveal thickness (CFT). BCVA and CFT changes, number of injections and recurrence of macular edema over 2 years were compared between the groups.

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Purpose: To study serial changes in branching neovascular networks (BNN) by using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in patients with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) who underwent combined photodynamic therapy (PDT) and anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy.

Methods: In this retrospective study of 30 PCV patients who underwent combined therapy, OCTA images obtained at baseline and 1, 3, and 6 months after treatment were collected. The vessel area, vessel percentage area, average vessel length, and presence of polypoidal lesions on OCTA images as well as best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central retinal thickness (CRT), and central choroidal thickness (CCT) were recorded at each time point.

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This study is aimed at evaluating a deep transfer learning-based model for identifying diabetic retinopathy (DR) that was trained using a dataset with high variability and predominant type 2 diabetes (T2D) and comparing model performance with that in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D). The Kaggle dataset, which is a publicly available dataset, was divided into training and testing Kaggle datasets. In the comparison dataset, we collected retinal fundus images of T1D patients at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan from 2013 to 2020, and the images were divided into training and testing T1D datasets.

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Optic neuritis, inflammation of the optic nerve, can cause visual impairment through retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) degeneration. Optical coherence tomography could serve as a sensitive noninvasive tool for measuring RNFL thickness and evaluating the neuroprotective effects of treatment. We conducted a meta-analysis to compare RNFL loss between novel add-on treatments and corticosteroid therapy at least 3 months after acute optic neuritis.

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The management of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) has taken a major stride forward with the advent of anti-VEGF agents. The treat-and-extend (T&E) approach is a refined management strategy, tailoring to the individual patient's disease course and treatment outcome. To provide guidance to implementing anti-VEGF T&E regimens for nAMD in resource-limited health care systems, an advisory board was held to discuss and generate expert consensus, based on local and international guidelines, current evidence, as well as local experience and reimbursement policies.

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