INTERESTING EYE NEWS & CLINICAL PEARLS

This article summarizes factors in the environment and diet that influences the progression of myopia.

Some points from this s upplementary article in Review of Optometry. Vitamin A: The blue Mountains Eye study found that elevated beta carotene intake was assoicated with an increased risk of macular degeneration. Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) : Deficiency can cause red eye, photosensitivty, and dry eye. Vitamin B7 (biotin) : deficiency can lead to dry scalp, dandruff, or hair loss. Vitamin B9 (folate) : unmetabolized folic acid can accelerate cardiovascular and ophthalmic vascular disease.  Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) : Provides relief for patients with pernicious anemia, megaloblastic anemia, and sickle cell anemia. Vitamin C :Assists in collagen fomation and wound healing, including that of the cornea.  Deficiency results in slow healing, frequent infections, low platelets, retinal microaneurysms, and cataracts. Vitamin D : Crucial for patients facing uveitis/ retinitis, MS, herpes simplex and zoster, neovacularization jin AMD, and patients at risk for diabetes.  ...

Sun Pharmaceutical announced that its dry eye drug Cequa (cyclosporine ophthalmic solution) 0.09% is now commercially available the United States. Cequa, which offers the highest concentration of cyclosporine for ophthalmic use approved by the FDA, is indicated to increase tear production in patients with keratoconjunctivitis sicca (dry eye). Cequa is the first and only FDA-approved cyclosporine treatment delivered with nanomicellar (NCELL) technology, which helps to improve the bioavailability and physicochemical stability of cyclosporine, resulting in improved ocular tissue penetration.

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."