Publications

2020

Shanbhag S, Hall L, Chodosh J, Saeed H. Long-term outcomes of amniotic membrane treatment in acute Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis. Ocul Surf. 2020;18(3):517–522.
PURPOSE: To report the long-term outcomes of amniotic membrane (AM) use in the form of transplantation (AMT) and self-retained amniotic membrane (ProKera® device, PD) in acute Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN). METHODS: Electronic records of all patients with a diagnosis of SJS/TEN at Massachusetts Eye and Ear between January 2008 and January 2018 were reviewed. Patients who received AM in acute SJS/TEN were selected. Only patients with follow-up ≥ 3 months after discharge were included. RESULTS: Data of 55 eyes of 29 patients were analyzed. All 55 eyes received the first AM at a median interval of 5 days (inter-quartile range (IQR): 3-7 days) after onset of skin rash. Fifty-six percent of eyes (31/55) received AMT while 44% (24/55) received PD. Forty percent of eyes (22/55) required a repeat AMT or PD. Median follow-up after initial AM was 2.5 years (IQR: 1.2-3.6 years). At last follow-up, the best-corrected visual acuity was ≥20/40 in 87% of eyes (48/55). The most common complications in the chronic phase were meibomian gland disease and dry eye, seen in 78% of eyes (43/55) and 58% of eyes (32/55) respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term results show that early use of AM in the acute phase of SJS/TEN may be effective in mitigating severe vision loss after SJS/TEN. However, eyelid-related complications and dry eye remain a common problem even with the use of AM.
Ung C, Gragoudas E. Checkpoint inhibitor-induced sarcoid choroidal granulomas. Am J Ophthalmol Case Rep. 2020;18:100652.
Purpose: To present a novel case of sarcoid choroidal granulomas due to nivolumab therapy for metastatic cutaneous melanoma. Observations: A 55 year-old male with a history of stage III metastatic cutaneous melanoma treated by nivolumab presented with bilateral choroidal lesions. The ophthalmologic examination revealed bilateral creamy, yellow choroidal lesions with no ocular inflammation. The systemic workup revealed pulmonary sarcoidosis confirmed by biopsy. Conclusion: Nivolumab is an immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy used in the treatment of metastatic melanoma. With the increasing use of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with advanced melanoma, clinicians should be aware of this potential associated immune-related adverse event.
Habib L, Wolkow N, Cohen L, Ma L, Yoon M, Lee NG. Pyoderma gangrenosum of the eyelid associated with inflammatory bowel disease. Am J Ophthalmol Case Rep. 2020;18:100623.
Purpose: Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) of the eyelid can be difficult to diagnosis and may mimic other, more common pathologies, thereby delaying proper treatment and management. PG may be associated with systemic disorders that have significant comorbidities. Observations: The authors present two cases of pyoderma gangrenosum of the eyelid associated with inflammatory bowel disease. Conclusions and importance: This case series highlights the importance of early recognition of eyelid pyoderma gangrenosum to avoid local and systemic comorbidities with timely and appropriate management.
Wang T, Tsirukis D, Sun Y. Targeting Neuroinflammation in Neovascular Retinal Diseases. Front Pharmacol. 2020;11:234.
Retinal blood vessels provide the necessary energy, nutrients and oxygen in order to support visual function and remove harmful particles from blood, thus acting to protect neuronal cells. The homeostasis of the retinal vessels is important for the maintenance of retinal visual function. Neovascularization is the most common cause of blindness in patients with retinopathy. Previous studies have shown that inflammatory mediators are known key regulators in retinopathy, but their causal link has been elusive. Although inflammation is often thought to arise from inflammatory cells like macrophages, neutrophils, and resident microglia, retinal neurons have also been reported to contribute to inflammation, through inflammatory signals, which mediate blood vessel growth. Therefore, it is important to explore the detailed mechanisms of neuroinflammation's effects on retinal neovascularization. This review looks to summarize current research on the relationship between retinal angiogenesis and neuroinflammation in retinopathy, as well as the potential effects of neuroinflammation on retinal neovascularization in different animal models.
Horton M, Brady C, Cavallerano J, Abramoff M, Barker G, Chiang M, Crockett C, Garg S, Karth P, Liu Y, Newman C, Rathi S, Sheth V, Silva P, Stebbins K, Zimmer-Galler I. Practice Guidelines for Ocular Telehealth-Diabetic Retinopathy, Third Edition. Telemed J E Health. 2020;26(4):495–543.
Contributors The following document and appendices represent the third edition of the . These guidelines were developed by the Diabetic Retinopathy Telehealth Practice Guidelines Working Group. This working group consisted of a large number of subject matter experts in clinical applications for telehealth in ophthalmology. The editorial committee consisted of Mark B. Horton, OD, MD, who served as working group chair and Christopher J. Brady, MD, MHS, and Jerry Cavallerano, OD, PhD, who served as cochairs. The writing committees were separated into seven different categories. They are as follows: 1.Clinical/operational: Jerry Cavallerano, OD, PhD (Chair), Gail Barker, PhD, MBA, Christopher J. Brady, MD, MHS, Yao Liu, MD, MS, Siddarth Rathi, MD, MBA, Veeral Sheth, MD, MBA, Paolo Silva, MD, and Ingrid Zimmer-Galler, MD. 2.Equipment: Veeral Sheth, MD (Chair), Mark B. Horton, OD, MD, Siddarth Rathi, MD, MBA, Paolo Silva, MD, and Kristen Stebbins, MSPH. 3.Quality assurance: Mark B. Horton, OD, MD (Chair), Seema Garg, MD, PhD, Yao Liu, MD, MS, and Ingrid Zimmer-Galler, MD. 4.Glaucoma: Yao Liu, MD, MS (Chair) and Siddarth Rathi, MD, MBA. 5.Retinopathy of prematurity: Christopher J. Brady, MD, MHS (Chair) and Ingrid Zimmer-Galler, MD. 6.Age-related macular degeneration: Christopher J. Brady, MD, MHS (Chair) and Ingrid Zimmer-Galler, MD. 7.Autonomous and computer assisted detection, classification and diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy: Michael Abramoff, MD, PhD (Chair), Michael F. Chiang, MD, and Paolo Silva, MD.
Singh R, Ichhpujani P, Thakur S, Jindal S. Promising therapeutic drug delivery systems for glaucoma: a comprehensive review. Ther Adv Ophthalmol. 2020;12:2515841420905740.
The delivery of ophthalmic drugs is challenging despite easy accessibility via the ocular surface. Topical instillation of eye drops is a relatively easy and most commonly used as a conduit for drug delivery for treating a myriad of ocular morbidities, particularly involving the anterior segment, and has an additional benefit of avoiding the first-pass metabolism while passing through the systemic circulation. The primary challenges of drug administration through traditional methods include-inadequate patient education for proper drug instillation technique, compliance, adherence, and persistence. Various dynamic (choroidal and conjunctival blood flow, lymphatic clearance, and tear dilution) and static (namely, different layers of cornea, sclera, and retina including blood aqueous and blood-retinal barriers) ocular barriers limit drug delivery to the target ocular tissues. The maintenance of the therapeutic drug levels on the ocular surface for a prolonged duration is an added challenge, thus preventing persistent delivery for longer durations. These factors result in inadequate management, leading to poor prognosis in vision loss in as many as 27% of the patients diagnosed with glaucoma. We have reviewed the research and advancements in the development of novel and well-tolerated drug delivery systems with the common goal of overcoming the factors limiting adequate drug delivery to the target tissues in glaucomatous patients with traditional techniques. In the recent past, multiple research groups have successfully designed noninvasive, sustained drug delivery systems, promoting the efficacy as well as the feasibility of delivering topical drugs to the anterior segment.
Chang WC, Abe R, Anderson P, Anderson W, Ardern-Jones M, Beachkofsky T, Bellón T, Biala A, Bouchard C, Cavalleri G, Chapman N, Chodosh J, Choi H, Cibotti R, Divito S, Dewar K, Dehaeck U, Etminan M, Forbes D, Fuchs E, Goldman J, Holmes J, Hope E, Hung SI, Hsieh CL, Iovieno A, Jagdeo J, Kim MK, Koelle D, Lacouture M, Le Pallec S, Lehloenya R, Lim R, Lowe A, McCawley J, McCawley J, Micheletti R, Mockenhaupt M, Niemeyer K, Norcross M, Oboh D, Olteanu C, Pasieka H, Peter J, Pirmohamed M, Rieder M, Saeed H, Shear N, Shieh C, Straus S, Sukasem C, Sung C, Trubiano J, Tsou SY, Ueta M, Volpi S, Wan C, Wang H, Wang ZQ, Weintraub J, Whale C, Wheatley L, Whyte-Croasdaile S, Williams K, Wright G, Yeung S, Zhou L, Chung WH, Phillips E, Carleton B. SJS/TEN 2019: From science to translation. J Dermatol Sci. 2020;
Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN) are potentially life-threatening, immune-mediated adverse reactions characterized by widespread erythema, epidermal necrosis, and detachment of skin and mucosa. Efforts to grow and develop functional international collaborations and a multidisciplinary interactive network focusing on SJS/TEN as an uncommon but high burden disease will be necessary to improve efforts in prevention, early diagnosis and improved acute and long-term management. SJS/TEN 2019: From Science to Translation was a 1.5-day scientific program held April 26-27, 2019, in Vancouver, Canada. The meeting successfully engaged clinicians, researchers, and patients and conducted many productive discussions on research and patient care needs.
Ashraf M, Shokrollahi S, Salongcay R, Aiello LP, Silva P. Diabetic retinopathy and ultrawide field imaging. Semin Ophthalmol. 2020;35(1):56–65.
The introduction of ultrawide field imaging has allowed the visualization of approximately 82% of the total retinal area compared to only 30% using 7-standard field Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy (ETDRS) photography. This substantially wider field of view, while useful in many retinal vascular diseases, is particularly important in diabetic retinopathy where eyes with predominantly peripheral lesions or PPL have been shown to have significantly greater progression rates compared to eyes without PPL. In telemedicine settings, ultrawide field imaging has substantially reduced image ungradable rates and increased rate of disease identification allowing care to be delivered more effectively. Furthermore, the use of ultrawide field fluorescein angiography allows the visualization of significantly more diabetic retinal lesions and allows more accurate quantification of total retinal nonperfusion, with potential implications in the management of diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema. The focus of this paper is to review the current role of ultrawide field imaging in diabetic retinopathy and its possible future role in innovations for retinal image analysis such as artificial intelligence and vessel caliber measurements.
Lu SY, Rong SS, Wu Z, Huang C, Matsushita K, Ng TK, Leung C, Kawashima R, Usui S, Tam P, Tsujikawa M, Young A, Zhang M, Wiggs J, Nishida K, Tham C, Pang CP, Chen LJ. Association of the CAV1-CAV2 locus with normal-tension glaucoma in Chinese and Japanese. Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2020;48(5):658–665.
BACKGROUND: The CAV1-CAV2 locus has been associated with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and intraocular pressure. However, its association with normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) was inconclusive. Therefore, we evaluated this association in Chinese and Japanese. METHODS: Two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, rs4236601 and rs1052990) from previous genome-wide association studies of POAG were genotyped in a total of 2220 study subjects: a Hong Kong Chinese cohort of 537 NTG patients and 490 controls, a Shantou Chinese cohort of 102 NTG and 731 controls and an Osaka Japanese cohort of 153 NTG and 207 controls. Subgroup analysis by gender was conducted. Outcomes from different cohorts were combined using meta-analysis. RESULTS: SNP rs4236601 was significantly associated with NTG in the two Chinese cohorts (P = .0019, OR = 4.55, I = 0). In contrast, rs4236601 was monomorphic in the Osaka cohort. The association of rs1052990 was insignificant in a meta-analysis combining Chinese and Japanese cohorts (P = .81, OR = 1.05; I = 64%), and the OR tended towards opposite directions between Chinese (OR = 1.26) and Japanese (OR = 0.69). Gender-specific effects of the SNPs were not statistically significant in the logistic regression or Breslow-day tests of ORs (P > .05), although rs4236601 was significant in males (P = .0068; OR = 10.30) but not in females (P = .14; OR = 2.65) in the meta-analysis of Chinese subjects. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we confirmed the association of rs4236601 at the CAV1-CAV2 locus with NTG in Chinese. SNP rs4236601 is monomorphic, and rs1052990 tends towards a different direction in the Japanese cohort. Further studies are warranted to verify the ethnic difference and gender-specific effects of this locus.