Comparison of Three Handheld Fundus Cameras for Assessment of the Vertical Cup-To-Disk Ratio.

Purpose To compare the quality of optic nerve photographs from three different handheld fundus cameras and to assess the reproducibility and agreement of vertical cup-to-disk ratio (VCDR) measurements from each camera. Methods Adult patients from a comprehensive ophthalmology clinic and an intravitreous injection clinic in northern Thailand were recruited for this cross-sectional study. Each participant had optic nerve photography performed with each of 3 handheld cameras: the Volk iNview, Volk Pictor Plus, and Peek Retina.

Current Landscape of Uveitis Specialists in the United States.

 This study characterizes the current landscape of uveitis specialists and their practice settings in the United States.  An anonymous Internet-based survey with questions pertaining to training history and practice characteristics was distributed via REDCap to the American Uveitis Society and Young Uveitis Specialists listservs.  Forty-eight uveitis specialists in the United States responded to the survey out of 174 uveitis specialists that identify as practicing in the United States.

Purtscher-like retinopathy in a 19-year-old with maturity-onset diabetes of the young: a case report.

Background: We report the first case of Purtscher-like retinopathy in a patient with 17q12 deletion-associated maturity-onset diabetes of the young.

Case Presentation: A 19-year-old diabetic Hispanic male with history of cataracts and toe amputations presented with sudden onset of painless bilateral vision loss for 1 week with no associated trauma. Visual acuity was counting fingers at six feet in both eyes.

Association between HSP-Specific T-Cell Counts and Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness in Patients with Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma.

Objective: Previous laboratory reports implicate heat shock protein (HSP)-specific T-cell responses in glaucoma pathogenesis; here, we aimed to provide direct clinical evidence by correlating systemic HSP-specific T-cell levels with glaucoma severity in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG).

Design: Cross-sectional case-control study.

Subjects: Thirty-two adult patients with POAG and 38 controls underwent blood draw and optic nerve imaging.

THE CHRYSANTHEMUM PHENOTYPE OF IDIOPATHIC MULTIFOCAL CHOROIDITIS.

Purpose: To describe the clinical characteristics and multimodal imaging features of a distinctive subtype of active idiopathic multifocal choroiditis (iMFC) lesions with grey-yellow chorioretinal lesions surrounded by smaller satellite dots, a presentation referred to as "chrysanthemum lesions."

Methods: Retrospective, observational, multicenter case series of eyes with active iMFC and chrysanthemum lesions. Multimodal imaging features were reviewed and presented.

Clinical Practice Update: Management of Infectious Endophthalmitis After Intravitreal Anti-VEGF Injection.

Although infectious endophthalmitis after intravitreal antivascular endothelial growth factor injections is rare, it is the most feared and potentially devastating complication of this procedure. There is no high-level evidence to provide definitive guidance on the management of endophthalmitis occurring after intravitreal injection (IVI). This clinical practice update reviews the published literature regarding post-IVI endophthalmitis and highlights areas in which further research is needed to better guide its management.

Unusual Presentations of Low-Tension Glaucoma.

Low-tension glaucoma can sometimes be difficult to diagnose, particularly if patients do not have a classic presentation. This case series shows the value of Humphrey visual field (HVF) 10-2 tests to identify deficits in central vision. Case 1 describes a female in her mid-60s who presented complaining of a "blind spot" in her right eye.

A Thematic Analysis of Online Uveitis Support Groups.

Purpose: To report the availability and activity of online uveitis support groups.

Methods: An online search was conducted for support groups for uveitis. Member count and activity were recorded.

Telerehabilitation for people with low vision.

Background: Low vision affects over 300 million people worldwide and can compromise both activities of daily living and quality of life. Rehabilitative training and vision assistive equipment (VAE) may help, but some visually impaired people have limited resources to attend in-person visits to rehabilitation clinics to be trained to learn to use VAE. These people may be able to overcome barriers to care through access to remote, internet-based consultation (telerehabilitation).

Epithelial membrane protein 2 (EMP2) regulates hypoxia-induced angiogenesis in the adult retinal pigment epithelial cell lines.

Pathologic retinal neovascularization is a potentially blinding consequence seen in many common diseases including diabetic retinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity, and retinal vaso-occlusive diseases. This study investigates epithelial membrane protein 2 (EMP2) and its role as a possible modulator of angiogenesis in human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) under hypoxic conditions. To study its effects, the RPE cell line ARPE-19 was genetically modified to either overexpress EMP2 or knock down its levels, and RNA sequencing and western blot analysis was performed to confirm the changes in expression at the RNA and protein level, respectively.

Membrane Attack Complex Mediates Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cell Death in Stargardt Macular Degeneration.

Recessive Stargardt disease (STGD1) is an inherited retinopathy caused by mutations in the gene. The ABCA4 protein is a phospholipid-retinoid flippase in the outer segments of photoreceptors and the internal membranes of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. Here, we show that RPE cells derived via induced pluripotent stem-cell from a molecularly and clinically diagnosed STGD1 patient exhibited reduced ABCA4 protein and diminished activity compared to a normal subject.

Can Binocular Alignment Distinguish Hypertropia in Sagging Eye Syndrome From Superior Oblique Palsy?

Purpose: Although the three-step test (3ST) is typically used to diagnose superior oblique palsy (SOP), sagging eye syndrome (SES) has clinical similarities. We sought to determine if alignment measurements can distinguish unilateral SOP from hypertropia in SES.

Methods: We studied hypertropic subjects who underwent surface-coil magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrating either SO cross-section reduction indicative of congenital or acquired palsy (SOP group) or lateral rectus muscle sag (SES group).

Relationship between retinal fluid characteristics and vision in neovascular age-related macular degeneration: HARBOR post hoc analysis.

Purpose: To evaluate the relationship between retinal fluid location, amount/severity, and vision with ranibizumab-treated neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD).

Methods: In the phase 3 HARBOR trial (NCT00891735), treatment-naive patients with nAMD received ranibizumab 0.5 or 2.

Quantification of Anterior Chamber Cells in Children With Uveitis Using Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography.

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) for measuring anterior chamber (AC) cells in children with uveitis and to compare different AS-OCT acquisition modes.

Design: Validity and reliability analysis.

Methods: We enrolled children younger than 18 years who had uveitis involving the anterior segment and children without eye disease as controls.

Social media and ophthalmology: A review.

Social media is being widely used across ophthalmology. Its communication tools have been employed more often by ophthalmologists in private practice than academia, although academic institutions may be more impactful influencers. There are opportunities to promote ophthalmic services and to augment traditional clinical care.

Dawn and dusk peaks of outer segment phagocytosis, and visual cycle function require Rab28.

RAB28 is a farnesylated, ciliary G-protein. Patient variants in RAB28 are causative of autosomal recessive cone-rod dystrophy (CRD), an inherited human blindness. In rodent and zebrafish models, the absence of Rab28 results in diminished dawn, photoreceptor, outer segment phagocytosis (OSP).

Assessing Variant Causality and Severity Using Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells Derived from Stargardt Disease Patients.

Purpose: Modern molecular genetics has revolutionized gene discovery, genetic diagnoses, and precision medicine yet many patients remain unable to benefit from these advances as disease-causing variants remain elusive for up to half of Mendelian genetic disorders. Patient-derived induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells and transcriptomics were used to identify the fate of unsolved ABCA4 alleles in patients with Stargardt disease.

Methods: Multiple independent iPS lines were generated from skin biopsies of three patients with Stargardt disease harboring a single identified pathogenic ABCA4 variant.

S100 proteins, cytokines, and chemokines as tear biomarkers in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis-associated uveitis.

Purpose: Biomarkers for juvenile idiopathic arthritis-associated uveitis (JIA-U) are needed. We aimed to measure inflammatory biomarkers in tears as a non-invasive method to identify biomarkers of uveitis activity.

Methods: Tears were collected from children with JIA-U (n=20) and pediatric controls (n=20) using Schirmer strips.

Multimodal imaging in pediatric uveitis.

Pediatric uveitis accounts for up to 10% of all uveitis cases, so special attention must be paid to ensure early diagnosis as well as treatment and follow-up of these young patients in order to decrease the risk of possible ocular complications and consequently vision loss. Multimodal imaging has been an effective and important adjunct in the diagnoses and management of uveitis, especially in children. Reviewed here are the currently utilized modalities, advances, as well as their applications in juvenile idiopathic arthritis-associated uveitis, pars planitis, retinal vasculitis, tubulointerstitial nephritis and uveitis syndrome, Behçet disease, Blau syndrome, and Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome.