INTERESTING EYE NEWS & CLINICAL PEARLS

The FDA has approved the use of Eylea, an vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitor (Anti-VEGF) for all stages of diabetic retinopaty. In the past, anti-VEGF medications were injected into the eye only in advanced cases of diabetic retinopathy or in cases of clinically significant macular edema.  This FDA approval suggests anti-VEGF treatment could be utilized in less severe cases of diabetic retinopathy to decrease risk of progression.  We have generally considered diabetic retinopathy to be one of the major causes of preventable blindness in the United States.

In this study , "researchers found that ... fluctuations of diastolic blood pressure (was a) risk factor for progression" of normal tension glaucoma.  

This study " suggests dry eye symptoms in individuals with migraine may be driven by nerve dysfunction as opposed to ocular surface abnormalities"

Scleral Users at Lower Risk of Keratoplasty This finding may encourage their use for keratoconus patients. "Researchers recently found that patients who wear scleral contact lenses for keratoconus had a significantly lower risk of requiring keratoplasty (corneal transplant), which may warrant the wide-scale use of sclerals for the condition.  "The team noted that 2.03% of patients wearing scleral lenses required keratoplasty, compared with 6.82% of those who did not wear scleral lenses. The use of a scleral lens was associated with a 72.7% decreased hazard of requiring keratoplasty."

Cytokine-coated Lens Could Treat Dry Eye The sustained-release drug would be dispersed over days. "University of Pittsburgh researchers developed a coating for silicone hydrogel lenses they believe could provide a sustained treatment for dry eye. The results show that polymeric IL-4 releasing coating can be applied to contact lenses with a resulting sustained release of drug over days vs. the transient burst release seen with eye drops,”

Statin Therapy Yields Higher Corneal Clarity Patients in their 60s on this therapy had the clearest corneas. A cholesterol-lowering drug could give its users an unanticipated benefit: uncloudy corneas. The results of a study based in Manchester, UK, provide evidence that statin users show higher corneal clarity levels than non-users. 

Corneal Opacity Treatment Goes High-Tech An intra-ocular projector could bring bionic capabilities to patients who are poor candidates for other therapies. " Researchers have invented an intraocular implant that projects light directly onto the retina, bypassing the damaged cornea, as an alternative approach for treating corneal opacity. The device captures light via an external camera and then wirelessly sends data to an intraocular microdisplay.  "The intraocular projector can restore vision in people blinded by corneal opacity, possibly providing a more accessible solution to those who may not be ideal candidates for cornea transplants or keratoprosthesis."  

High-fat Diet Linked to Dry Eye Study finds it can inhibit function of the lacrimal gland. Photo by  Louis Hansel "A long-term, high-fat diet may reduce the lacrimal gland’s tear secretion ability, which in turn could cause dry eye, a new study claims. "Mice were given either a standard or high-fat diet for different durations over the period of one to four months. After one month, the study found those on the high-fat diet had decreased tear secretion.  "Also of note: After four months on the high-fat diet, mice that were shifted to the standard diet for one month were able to recover from most pathologic changes. In addition, after feeding with fenofibrate, the tear production increased, inflammation was relieved and the oxidative stress level decreased. "A long-term high-fat diet could result in aqueous tear secretion decrease, which may induce dry eye."

UV Exposure a Risk Factor for Myopia A population-based study demonstrates more rapid progression in eyes without protection. "Increased time spent outdoors during childhood is known to dampen the progression of myopia, but mitigating against this advantage of the great outdoors is concern over exposure to ultraviolet light—including its effect on refractive status. This study found that UV exposure might be a risk factor for myopia progression. Patients who wore UV blocking lenses over time appear to have less myopia progression both by sex and degree of myopia. Considering UV protection may be one more way that practitioners may be able to help control for myopia.”