Division of Eye and Vision

In conclusion, our results demonstrate that the Eyestar 900 and Lenstar LS 900 provide repeatable measurements for the different parameters analyzed. Comparing the instruments, we believe that despite the statistically significant differences reported in CCT and LT and the LoA values, we consider them negligible from a clinical standpoint. Hence, the two biometers can be used interchangeably.

The present study investigated the integrity of contrast sensitivity (CS), colour vision, and pattern evoked vision potentials (VEP) in non-immunocompromised people living with HIV (NIPLHIV) without retinitis.

Macula thickness and volumetric differences do exist in NIPLHIV. Practitioners should keep NIPLHIV under retinal morphometric surveillance because they live longer. Associations of cerebral atrophy with retinal morphology may be used to monitor cerebral atrophy in NIPLIV on ART.

OCT can facilitate the diagnosis of ONH. Parameters such as pRNFL, GCC and BMO can be predictors of visual acuity whereas GCC and pRNFL thinning can indicate location and severity of visual field defects.

Retrograde degeneration of the eye’s retinal ganglion cells, causing visual loss and even blindness, is a feared consequence of optic pathway gliomas. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a patient-friendly, high-resolution imaging technique enabling objective measurements of the integrity of the retinal ganglion cell layer.

The similarities between horizontal and vertical Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) scans for the individual retinal layer thickness measurements in the macula was evaluated. The larger limit of agreement intervals seen for different layers and sectors suggests that the scan direction must be same for the follow-up OCT measurements and in clinical studies.

The recognition of associations may be the first step in the proposal to develop a framework for the surveillance of vision in patients with NIPLHIV. We recommend a study of the sample population to track the stability of these observations before general recommendations for clinical care.

Extreme prematurity without impact of ROP is associated with increased GCL + , ONL, and RT thickness at FC as well as reduced FD compared to full-term controls at age 6.5. This indicates that prematurity per se may have a profound effect on foveal anatomical maturation during the first months after birth. Our results suggest RT at FC to be a simple and useful measure of foveal anatomical immaturity.

What was known before

Visual outcomes after treatment of uveal melanoma have been investigated repeatedly. Surprisingly few studies have examined the correlation between visual acuity before primary tumour treatment with long-term patient outcomes.

What this study adds

In a cohort of 1809 patients, we find that uveal melanoma patients with low visual acuity before treatment have greater incidence of uveal-melanoma-related mortality in competing risk analysis, and that they have shorter overall survival. This is likely related to the fact that patients with low visual acuity had significantly larger tumours. In the second cohort with 137 enucleated eyes, however, there were no significant relations between low visual acuity and any one of 13 examined tumour histological factors at a Bonferroni-corrected significance level.

Four basic cell types can be outlined in uveal melanoma progression: normal, spindle A and B, and epithelioid. Differential expression of tumor suppressors, growth factors, and immune checkpoints could contribute to their relative over- and underrepresentation in benign, primary tumor, and metastatic samples.

Women with uveal melanoma have better survival in the first decade after diagnosis. Thereafter, female survivors are significantly older than men and have a higher incidence of uveal melanoma-related mortality.

To assess the long-term prognosis for patients with iris melanomas and compare it with the prognosis for small choroidal melanomas.

Ökning av antalet kopior av kromosom 6 i Retinoblastom ökar risken för spridning av tumören utanför ögat. I ett samarbete mellan två amerikanska universitet och forskare från S:t Eriks Ögonsjukhus har man kartlagt hur antalet kopior av den korta armen av kromosom 6 korrelerar med risken för att Retinoblastom ska sprida sig utanför ögat.Gustav Stålhammar, specialistläkare i ögonsjukdomar och patologi, och docent vid Karolinska Institutet, var huvudansvarig för studien.

Do surgeries lead to an increased risk of heart attack?The simple answer is no. New study in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Among the exceedingly rare published patients with untreated primary uveal melanoma, 80–90% have developed metastases and their disease-specific survival seems to be shorter than treated patients. This could indicate that some metastases might be prevented by primary tumor treatment.

Compared with 20-mm plaques, brachytherapy with 15-mm ruthenium plaques is associated with a higher risk for tumor recurrence and death. These adverse outcomes may be avoided by increasing safety margins and implementing effective methods to verify accurate plaque positioning.

Metabolic factors and obesity may influence the development and progression of cancer. In this study, we examine their association with the risk of developing metastases of uveal melanoma.

Conclusion; Obesity and elevated serum leptin levels are associated with a lower risk for developing metastases and dying from uveal melanoma.

We demonstrate multiorgan involvement of apparently dormant micrometastases in patients with uveal melanoma. This suggests that micrometastases are present in nearly all patients diagnosed with primary uveal melanoma, regardless of coexisting macrometastases.

A prognostic test based on a single peripheral venous blood sample at the time of uveal melanoma diagnosis stratifies patients into low, intermediate, and high metastatic risk categories. Prospective validation will facilitate its clinical utility.

In this trial, 100 subjects with non-metastatic uveal melanoma will be randomized to either treatment with melatonin 20 mg at 10 pm for 5 years or to a control group. The main objective is to investigate whether treatment with melatonin can reduce the risk of developing metastases after 5 years. Only subjects at high risk for metastasis development will be included in the trial. As uveal melanoma has a relatively low incidence rate compared to other cancers, the recruitment period is estimated to take 3 to 4 years.

The present study aimed to construct and validate a Swedish translation (VVAS-S) of the Visual Vertigo Analogue Scale (VVAS).

The Swedish version of the Visual Vertigo Analogue Scale is a questionnaire suitable for evaluating visually induced dizziness in a Swedish population. This study found that the Swedish questionnaire was comparable to the original in terms of internal consistency. The Swedish Visual vertigo Analogue Scale can be found as an appendix to this article.

Visually Induced Dizziness (VID) is a common post-concussion sequalae that remains poorly understood and difficult to quantify. The present study aims to identify biomarkers for VID in the form of gaze-stabilizing eye movements. Nine patients with post-commotio VID and nine age-matched healthy controls were recruited by physiotherapists at a local neurorehabilitation centre.

In conclusion, post-commotio VID was associated with faster slow-phases during optokinetic gaze-stabilization, with both vergence and torsion being correlated to symptom intensity. As torsional tracking remains inaccessible using commercial eye-trackers, vertical vergence may prove particularly accessible for clinical utility.

What was known before

Visual outcomes after treatment of uveal melanoma have been investigated repeatedly. Surprisingly few studies have examined the correlation between visual acuity before primary tumour treatment with long-term patient outcomes.

What this study adds

In a cohort of 1809 patients, we find that uveal melanoma patients with low visual acuity before treatment have greater incidence of uveal-melanoma-related mortality in competing risk analysis, and that they have shorter overall survival. This is likely related to the fact that patients with low visual acuity had significantly larger tumours. In the second cohort with 137 enucleated eyes, however, there were no significant relations between low visual acuity and any one of 13 examined tumour histological factors at a Bonferroni-corrected significance level.

BCVA in FD-patients was good despite corneal and lens pathology. Ocular variables did not show an association with TSS in adult patients.

Corneal or lens opacities should also lead to a suspicion of FD in children.

Retrograde degeneration of the eye’s retinal ganglion cells, causing visual loss and even blindness, is a feared consequence of optic pathway gliomas. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a patient-friendly, high-resolution imaging technique enabling objective measurements of the integrity of the retinal ganglion cell layer.

Gaze stabilization compensates for movements of the head or external environment to minimize image blurring. Multisensory information stabilizes the scene on the retina via the vestibulo-ocular (VOR) and optokinetic (OKR) reflexes. While the organization of neuronal circuits underlying VOR is well-described across vertebrates, less is known about the contribution and evolution of the OKR and the basic structures allowing visuo-vestibular integration. To analyze these neuronal pathways underlying visuo-vestibular integration, we developed a setup using a lamprey eye-brain-labyrinth preparation, which allowed coordinating electrophysiological recordings, vestibular stimulation with a moving platform, and visual stimulation via screens.

The study showed that 75% of infants born EPT, before 24 weeks of gestation, were affected by neurodevelopmental disorders during childhood and 88% had somatic disorders. The most common issues included asthma and childhood bronchopulmonary dysplasia, speech disorders, intellectual disabilities, failure to thrive, ADHD and ASD. Boys were more likely to have intellectual disabilities than girls. 

Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is driven by mtDNA mutations affecting Complex I presenting as progressive retinal ganglion cell dysfunction usually in the absence of extra-ophthalmic symptoms. There are no long-term neuroprotective agents for LHON. Oral nicotinamide provides a robust neuroprotective effect against mitochondrial and metabolic dysfunction in other retinal injuries. We explored the potential for nicotinamide to protect mitochondria in LHON by modelling the disease in mice through intravitreal injection of the Complex I inhibitor rotenone.

These findings demonstrate that the inner retina and optic nerve head is highly enriched with the machinery to directly utilize nicotinamide through the salvage pathway and that the ability to do so is maintained, but the capacity to do so may be lower in glaucoma.

 A combination of nicotinamide and pyruvate yielded significant short-term improvement in visual function, supporting prior experimental research suggesting a role for these agents in neuroprotection for individuals with glaucoma and confirming the need for long-term studies to establish their usefulness in slowing progression.

Retinal ganglion cell (RGC) death in glaucoma and other optic neuropathies results in irreversible vision loss due to the mammalian central nervous system’s limited regenerative capacity. RGC repopulation is a promising therapeutic approach to reverse vision loss from optic neuropathies if the newly introduced neurons can reestablish functional retinal and thalamic circuits.

Pete Williams and James Tribble have been part of a consortium to protect, regenerate, and repopulate the optic nerve and the retina as senior investigator

Goals of the consortium are to define and prioritize the most critical challenges and questions related to RGC regeneration over the next five years and to brainstorm innovative tools and experimental approaches to meeting these challenges while fostering opportunities for collaborative scientific investigation among diverse investigators.

The retinal explant model is a useful tool to explore resident neuroinflammation. Neuroinflammation can be modulated and explored on a rapid timescale whilst maintaining a complex system of cell interactions. VPA can attenuate resident glial inflammation in the retina and is a useful tool to further explore inhibition of pro-inflammatory glia in neurodegenerative disease.