The Clinical Usefulness of a Glaucoma Polygenic Risk Score in 4 Population-Based European Ancestry Cohorts.

Purpose: We used a polygenic risk score (PRS) to identify high-risk groups for primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) within population-based cohorts.

Design: Secondary analysis of 4 prospective population-based studies.

Participants: We included four European-ancestry cohorts: the United States-based Nurses' Health Study, Nurses' Health Study 2, and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and the Rotterdam Study (RS) in The Netherlands.

Glaucoma Patients Have a Lower Abundance of Butyrate-Producing Taxa in the Gut.

Purpose: Glaucoma is an eye disease that is the most common cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. It has been suggested that gut microbiota can produce reactive oxygen species and pro-inflammatory cytokines that may travel from the gastric mucosa to distal sites, for example, the optic nerve head or trabecular meshwork. There is evidence for a gut-eye axis, as microbial dysbiosis has been associated with retinal diseases.

Worldwide Incidence of Ocular Melanoma and Correlation With Pigmentation-Related Risk Factors.

Purpose: The worldwide incidence of ocular melanoma (OM), uveal melanoma (UM), and conjunctival melanoma has last been reported on 15 years ago. Recently, light iris color and four specific single-nucleotide-polymorphisms (SNPs) have been identified as a UM-risk factor. Furthermore, six iris color predicting SNPs have been discovered (IrisPlex).

The inflammatory potential of diet is associated with the risk of age-related eye diseases.

Background & Aims: Inflammation is involved in the pathogenesis of cataract, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and possibly open-angle glaucoma (OAG). We assessed whether the inflammatory potential of diet (quantified using the dietary inflammatory index; DII) affects the incidence of these common blinding age-related eye diseases. Serum inflammation markers were investigated as possible mediators.

Higher testosterone is associated with open-angle glaucoma in women: a genetic predisposition?

Background: Testosterone may be a possible modifiable risk factor for open-angle glaucoma (OAG) and intraocular pressure (IOP), but evidence has been scarce and conflicting. In this study we evaluated the association of testosterone and its genetic predisposition with incident (i) OAG, IOP, retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), and ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCL +).

Methods: Participants aged 45-100 years were derived from the prospective, population-based Rotterdam Study.

Association of Systemic Medication Use with Glaucoma and Intraocular Pressure: The European Eye Epidemiology Consortium.

Purpose: To investigate the association of commonly used systemic medications with glaucoma and intraocular pressure (IOP) in the European population.

Design: Meta-analysis of 11 population-based cohort studies of the European Eye Epidemiology Consortium.

Participants: The glaucoma analyses included 143 240 participants and the IOP analyses included 47 177 participants.

Genetic Associations Between Smoking- and Glaucoma-Related Traits.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the genetic relationship between smoking and glaucoma.

Methods: We used summary-level genetic data for smoking initiation, smoking intensity (cigarettes per day [CPD]), intraocular pressure (IOP), vertical cup-disc ratio, and open-angle glaucoma (OAG) to estimate global genetic correlations (rg) and perform two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) experiments that explored relations between traits. Finally, we examined associations between smoking genetic risk scores (GRS) and smoking traits with measured IOP and OAG in Rotterdam Study participants.

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of MicroShunt implantation versus standard trabeculectomy for open-angle glaucoma (a SIGHT study): study protocol of a multicentre randomised controlled trial.

Background: Trabeculectomy is the "gold standard" initial surgical procedure for open-angle glaucoma worldwide. During the last decade, the introduction of less invasive procedures, including new bleb-forming surgery such as the MicroShunt, has altered the approach of glaucoma management. At present, there is insufficient evidence comparing the effectiveness between these procedures nor versus trabeculectomy.

MIND diet lowers risk of open-angle glaucoma: the Rotterdam Study.

Purpose: To assess the association between the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet and the incidence of open-angle glaucoma (iOAG), as well as the association between iOAG and two other well-established diets in the Netherlands, i.e., the Mediterranean diet and Dutch dietary guidelines.

The use of OCT to detect signs of intracranial hypertension in patients with sagittal suture synostosis: Reference values and correlations.

Purpose: To obtain pediatric normative reference values and determine whether optical coherence tomography (OCT) corresponds better with clinical signs of intracranial hypertension (ICH) compared to the traditional screening method fundoscopy in a large cohort of one type of single suture craniosynostosis.

Methods: Control subjects without optic nerve diseases and isolated sagittal synostosis patients aged 3-10 years who underwent fundoscopy and OCT were included in this prospective cohort study. Normative reference values were obtained through bootstrap analysis.

Dietary Nitrate Intake Is Associated with Decreased Incidence of Open-Angle Glaucoma: The Rotterdam Study.

Previous studies suggest that nitric oxide is involved in the regulation of the intraocular pressure (IOP) and in the pathophysiology of open-angle glaucoma (OAG). However, prospective studies investigating the association between dietary nitrate intake, a source of nitric oxide, and incident (i)OAG risk are limited. We aimed to determine the association between dietary nitrate intake and iOAG, and to evaluate the association between dietary nitrate intake and IOP.

Efficacy and Safety of Micropulse Transscleral Cyclophotocoagulation.

Background: Early studies have shown that micropulse transscleral cyclophotocoagulation (MP-TSCPC) might be an effective and safe treatment option for lowering intraocular pressure (IOP). These studies were, however, somewhat limited, in particular by their retrospective nature and the length of follow-up. Therefore, we assessed the efficacy and safety of this novel treatment in a large cohort for up to 4 years.

Association of Diabetes Medication With Open-Angle Glaucoma, Age-Related Macular Degeneration, and Cataract in the Rotterdam Study.

Importance: Recent studies suggest that the diabetes drug metformin has a protective effect on open-angle glaucoma (OAG) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). However, studies have not addressed the critical issue of confounding by indication, and associations have not been evaluated in a large prospective cohort.

Objective: To determine the association between diabetes medication and the common eye diseases OAG, AMD, and cataract and to evaluate their cumulative lifetime risks in a large cohort study.

The Effect of Intraocular Pressure-Lowering Medication on Metastatic Uveal Melanomas.

Background: There has been speculation that IOP-lowering medication, which increases aqueous humor outflow, increases the risk of metastatic uveal melanoma (UM). This hypothesis has not been studied previously but is relevant for UM patients who use IOP-lowering medication. The aim of the current study is to assess the association between the use of intraocular pressure (IOP)-lowering medication and the risk of metastatic UM, and mortality.

Efficacy and safety of current treatment options for peripheral retinal haemangioblastomas: a systematic review.

Importance: Approximately twenty per cent of Von Hippel-Lindau patients with retinal haemangioblastomas (RH) suffer from visual impairment. Various treatment options are available for peripheral RH. However, management of peripheral RH is complex due to multifocality and bilaterality.

Efficacy of the XEN-Implant in Glaucoma and a Meta-Analysis of the Literature.

Background: To assess the efficacy of XEN-implant surgery in patients with glaucoma, and to perform a meta-analysis of previously published results and compare these to our data.

Methods: Prospective case-control study, in which all eyes that underwent XEN-implant surgery were included from 2015 onwards. Sub-analyses were performed for eyes that underwent XEN-implant as standalone procedure and as cataract-combined procedure.

Local tumour control and radiation side effects for fractionated stereotactic photon beam radiotherapy compared to proton beam radiotherapy in uveal melanoma.

Purpose: To compare the adverse side effects of fractionated stereotactic photon beam radiotherapy (fSRT) with proton beam radiotherapy (PBR) in patients with uveal melanoma (UM).

Methods: A retrospective study investigating 306 UM patients treated with fSRT (N=153) by the Rotterdam Ocular Melanoma Study group (ROMS), The Netherlands, between 1999-2014 or with PBR (N=153) at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital and the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, Bebington, United Kingdom, between 1993-2014. The tumours treated with fSRT were matched with tumours treated with PBR based on sex, left or right eye, TNM classification, posterior margin ≤ or > 3mm of the fovea and of the optic disc.

The Baerveldt Glaucoma Drainage Device: Efficacy, Safety, and Place in Therapy.

Objective: This review summarizes published findings concerning the Baerveldt-350 glaucoma drainage device (GDD). Most studies focus on the comparison between different treatments; in this review, the primary focus is efficacy, safety, and place in therapy for the Baerveldt implant.

Methods: A systematic review was performed using the PubMed database for literature on March 13th, 2020.

XEN Gel Stent compared to PRESERFLO™ MicroShunt implantation for primary open-angle glaucoma: two-year results.

Purpose: To evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of two minimally invasive glaucoma surgery implants with a subconjunctival drainage approach: the XEN45 Gel Stent (Xen) implant and the PRESERFLO™ MicroShunt (MicroShunt).

Methods: Retrospective comparative case series of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients with at least 6 months of follow-up after a MicroShunt or Xen implantation augmented with mitomycin C.

Results: Forty-one eyes of 31 patients underwent Xen implantation, and 41 eyes of 33 patients, MicroShunt implantation.

The effects of intravitreal injections on intraocular pressure and retinal nerve fiber layer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The number of eye diseases treated with intravitreal injections is increasing. Obviously, an injection of fluid into the eye results in an increase of intraocular pressure (IOP), the main risk factor for glaucoma. However, the effect of these repeated IOP increases on the eye is unclear.