Inhaled xenon modulates microglia and ameliorates disease in mouse models of amyloidosis and tauopathy.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder. Antiamyloid antibody treatments modestly slow disease progression in mild dementia due to AD. Emerging evidence shows that homeostatic dysregulation of the brain immune system, especially that orchestrated by microglia, plays an important role in disease onset and progression.

Optimized Prime Editing of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells to Efficiently Generate Isogenic Models of Mendelian Diseases.

Prime editing (PE) is a CRISPR-based tool for genome engineering that can be applied to generate human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-based disease models. PE technology safely introduces point mutations, small insertions, and deletions (indels) into the genome. It uses a Cas9-nickase (nCas9) fused to a reverse transcriptase (RT) as an editor and a PE guide RNA (pegRNA), which introduces the desired edit with great precision without creating double-strand breaks (DSBs).

Evaluating the Utility of Initial Exams in Retinopathy of Prematurity: Proposal of FIRST-ROP Algorithm for a Medium-Risk Cohort.

Purpose: To assess the utility of the first or second examinations for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in a medium-risk cohort of infants and to propose an optimization to the current ROP screening guidelines.

Design: Retrospective consecutive study.

Subjects: Infants screened for ROP between January 2017 and August 2023 at three different tertiary-level care neonatal intensive care units.

Glaucoma Screening and Referral Risk Factors in a High-Risk Population: Follow-up Study of the Manhattan Vision Screening Study (NYC-SIGHT).

Prcis: Community-based eye health screenings that incorporated fundus photography and optometric exams in a high-risk NYC population effectively identified a higher than average number of participants that required an in-office glaucoma evaluation.

Purpose: To report glaucoma screening rates and risk factors associated with referral for in-office glaucoma evaluation in the Manhattan Vision Screening and Follow-up Study (NYC-SIGHT).

Methods: In this 5-year, cluster-randomized clinical trial, eligible individuals aged 40 and older were recruited from affordable housing developments and senior centers.

Positional lagophthalmos variability in facial nerve palsy with and without upper eyelid loading.

Purpose: Lagophthalmos from facial nerve palsy is traditionally measured with patients in an upright position and may fail to identify positional variability. This study aims to assess the effects of body position, surgical technique, implant material, and patient demographics on lagophthalmos.

Methods: A multicenter prospective study was performed to evaluate positional changes in paralytic lagophthalmos and the effects of various patient and surgical factors.

Novel Intragenic and Genomic Variants Highlight the Phenotypic Variability in -Related Disease.

: Disruption of results in microphthalmia with linear skin lesions (MLS) characterized by microphthalmia/anophthalmia, corneal opacity, aplastic skin lesions, variable central nervous system and cardiac anomalies, intellectual disability, and poor growth in heterozygous females. Structural variants consisting of chromosomal rearrangements or deletions are the most common variant type, but a small number of intragenic variants have been reported. : Exome sequencing identified variants affecting .

Genome sequencing reveals the impact of non-canonical exon inclusions in rare genetic disease.

Introduction: Advancements in sequencing technologies have significantly improved clinical genetic testing, yet the diagnostic yield remains around 30-40%. Emerging sequencing technologies are now being deployed in the clinical setting to address the remaining diagnostic gap.

Methods: We tested whether short-read genome sequencing could increase diagnostic yield in individuals enrolled into the UCI-GREGoR research study, who had suspected Mendelian conditions and prior inconclusive clinical genetic testing.

Cost Effectiveness Analysis of Digital Therapeutics for Amblyopia.

Purpose: To evaluate the cost-utility of Luminopia and CureSight as therapy for amblyopia compared to current common amblyopic treatments such as glasses, atropine drops, and patching.

Design: Cost analysis based on data from published randomized control trials (RCTs).

Subjects: None; based on data from the Luminopia, CureSight and atropine RCTs.

So Many Injections, So Much Waste: Understanding the Environmental Impact of Intravitreal Injections.

To understand the environmental burden associated with intravitreal injections (IVIs) and propose actionable solutions to mitigate this impact. An analysis of current IVI practices was conducted, focusing on packaging waste, energy consumption, the carbon footprint, and disposal processes. Data on the environmental footprint of IVIs were collected from the literature and industry reports.

Dual-Polymer Carboxymethyl Cellulose and Poly(Ethylene Oxide)-Based Gels for the Prevention of Postsurgical Adhesions.

Postsurgical adhesions are a common complication associated with surgical procedures; they not only impact the patient's well-being but also impose a financial burden due to medical expenses required for reoperative surgeries or adhesiolysis. Adhesions can range from a filmy, fibrinous, or fibrous vascular band to a cohesive attachment, and they can form in diverse anatomical locations such as the peritoneum, pericardium, endometrium, tendons, synovium, and epidural and pleural spaces. Numerous strategies have been explored to minimize the occurrence of postsurgical adhesions.

Prospective Trial of Biomarker-Guided Surveillance for HPV-positive Oropharynx Cancer Using Plasma Tumor Tissue Modified Viral HPV DNA.

Background: Observational studies suggest circulating tumor HPV DNA may facilitate early detection of recurrent HPV-positive oropharynx cancer (OPC). We prospectively investigated whether biomarker-guided surveillance detects recurrence sooner than standard-of-care.

Patients And Methods: We enrolled patients evaluated for HPV-positive OPC at a single center 11/2020-4/2023 undergoing curative-intent treatment in a single-arm cohort study.

Coffee and tea consumption and the risk of head and neck cancer: An updated pooled analysis in the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology Consortium.

Introduction: The relations between coffee and tea consumption and head and neck cancer (HNC) incidence are unclear. With increasing global HNC burden, this study aims to examine the association between coffee, tea, and HNC.

Methods: A pooled analysis of 9548 HNC cases and 15,783 controls from 14 individual-level case-control studies was conducted from the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology consortium.

Delphi-Based Global Consensus on Adopting Endothelial Keratoplasty: An Endothelial Keratoplasty Learners Group Initiative.

Purpose: To identify areas of consensus among experts on the performance of endothelial keratoplasty by using a modified Delphi approach, to help create a framework for novice surgeons to adopt these procedures.

Methods: Thirty-one international experts in endothelial keratoplasty participated. Two rounds of electronic survey were followed by a hybrid, virtual meeting.

Confirmatory Cytopathology and Potential Impact on the Predictive Value of Gene Expression Profiling in Patients With Uveal Melanoma.

To determine whether the availability of a cytopathology-confirming diagnosis is correlated with the prognostic accuracy of a gene expression profiling assay. A single-center retrospective review was performed of patients diagnosed with uveal melanoma who had a fine-needle aspiration biopsy and gene expression profiling before proton therapy from 2012 to 2020. The development of metastases was compared in patients with gene expression profiling and cytopathology (gene expression profiling+cytopathology group) and patients with gene expression profiling only (gene expression profiling only group).

The FLuorometholone as Adjunctive MEdical Therapy for Trachomatous Trichiasis Surgery (FLAME) Trial: Study Design.

Purpose: To report the design of FLuorometholone as Adjunctive MEdical therapy for TT surgery (FLAME) trial.

Design: Parallel design, double-masked, placebo-controlled clinical trial with 1:1 randomization to fluorometholone 0.1% eye drops twice daily or placebo twice daily for 4 weeks in eyes undergoing trachomatous trichiasis (TT) surgery for assessing the efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of fluorometholone 0.

Draft genome sequences of strains isolated from ocular surface of CD36-knockout mice (B6.129S1-/J) with keratitis.

Three strains were cultured from the eyes of CD36-knockout mice (B6.129S1-/J) with and without keratitis housed at a biomedical research institute. Bacteria were sequenced using Illumina MiSeq technology for subsequent phylogenetic characterization and identification of virulence factor genes conferring pathogenic potential.

Effective Nose-to-Brain Delivery of Blood-Brain Barrier Impermeant Anti-IL-1β Antibody via the Minimally Invasive Nasal Depot (MIND) Technique.

Treatment of neuroinflammation and neurodegenerative diseases using biologic therapies is limited due to the blood-brain barrier (BBB). This study explores a clinically validated approach to bypass the BBB for the purposes of direct central nervous system (CNS) delivery of antibodies using the Minimally Invasive Nasal Depot (MIND) technique. Using a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced mouse model of neuroinflammation, we evaluated the efficacy of MIND in delivering a BBB impermeant full-length anti-IL-1β antibody.

Effect of Therapeutic Pars Plana Vitrectomy on Total Immunosuppression Load in Patients with Non-Infectious Uveitis.

Purpose: The anti-inflammatory effect of therapeutic pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) in the management of posterior segment uveitis is incompletely quantified. In this study, we evaluated the change in total immunosuppression load (TIL) following PPV for the eyes of patients with non-infectious uveitis.

Methods: Retrospective chart review of patients with non-infectious posterior segment uveitis on continuous anti-inflammatory therapy (systemic corticosteroids ± immunomodulatory therapy [IMT]) ±3 months, who received therapeutic PPV for non-resolving inflammation.