Placebo or vehicle effects on dry eye signs and symptoms in randomized controlled trials: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Dry eye disease (DED) is one of the most prevalent ophthalmic conditions. Placebo or vehicle administration is frequently used in DED trials, yet its effects remain poorly characterized. This study evaluates the presence, magnitude, and factors associated with DED vehicle or placebo effects to inform future trial design.

Association of Cataract History with Dry Eye Disease Signs and Symptoms in the DREAM Study.

Background: Dry eye disease (DED) and cataracts are highly prevalent ocular conditions, particularly among older adults. However, the relationship between cataracts, cataract surgery, and DED severity remains poorly understood. This study aimed to assess the associations between cataract history and DED signs and symptoms in participants with moderate-to-severe DED.

Sloping retina: a novel feature associated with primary open-angle glaucoma in an African ancestry cohort.

Objective: To define sloping of the retina, a novel stereoscopic feature in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), and to evaluate its prevalence and associated risk factors in an African ancestry population.

Methods And Analysis: Digital stereo disc images were graded for sloping by trained non-physician graders. We defined a sloping retina as one that slanted downward towards the disc margin instead of existing on the same plane as the disc margin.

Machine Learning Models for Predicting Treatment-Requiring Retinopathy of Prematurity in the e-ROP Study.

Purpose: To evaluate machine learning (ML) models for predicting treatment-requiring retinopathy of prematurity (TR-ROP) using image findings at 32 to 34 weeks of postmenstrual age, along with demographic and clinical characteristics.

Methods: This secondary analysis included 771 infants with a birth weight of less than 1251 g who had at least one imaging session by 34 weeks postmenstrual age and at least one subsequent ROP examination for determining TR-ROP by ophthalmologists in the Telemedicine Approaches to Evaluating Acute-Phase Retinopathy of Prematurity (e-ROP) Study. Six ML models (K-nearest neighbors, support vector machine, random forest, extreme gradient boosting, deep neural network [DNN], and transformer) were evaluated for predicting TR-ROP.

Predictors of Glaucoma Conversion in an African Ancestry Cohort: A Longitudinal Study.

Purpose: To identify risk factors associated with conversion from glaucoma suspect to primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) in individuals of African ancestry.

Design: Prospective case-control study.

Subjects: A total of 330 glaucoma suspects from the Primary Open-Angle African American Glaucoma Genetics study with a median follow-up of 6.

Outcomes of posterior lamellar tarsal rotation vs bilamellar tarsal rotation for trachomatous trichiasis.

Background: Trachomatous trichiasis (TT) surgery is a key strategy for avoiding blindness and visual impairment from trachoma. We compared alternative WHO-endorsed TT surgery techniques, hypothesizing that in a "real world" study posterior lamellar tarsal rotation (PLTR) would be associated with less postoperative TT (PTT) than bilamellar tarsal rotation (BLTR).

Methods: In an ongoing TT control program in Jimma Zone, Ethiopia, TT surgeons used their preferred procedure (PLTR or BLTR) for upper eyelids with TT.

Comparison of ophthalmic surgery rates in teprotumumab-treated vs. teprotumumab-untreated thyroid eye disease patients.

Purpose: This study evaluated rates of thyroid eye disease-related eyelid surgeries, strabismus surgeries, and orbital decompressions in active thyroid eye disease patients treated with teprotumumab compared to those who were not.

Methods: In this single-center longitudinal study, we compared patients with active thyroid eye disease evaluated from 02/01/2017 to 01/31/2020 (pre-teprotumumab era) with those seen from 02/01/2020 to 04/30/2023 (teprotumumab era). Patients from the pre-teprotumumab era who received corticosteroids and/or orbital radiation were compared with those in the teprotumumab era treated with teprotumumab, with or without corticosteroids and/or orbital radiation.

Choroidal evaluation of FTLD-Tau and biomarker-determined Alzheimer's disease.

Frontotemporal lobar degeneration with tauopathy (FTLD-Tau) can present clinically similar to Alzheimer's disease but lacks a biomarker. Alzheimer's disease has been associated with choroidal thinning compared to controls. We compared the choroid of 25 probable FTLD-Tau (pFTLD-Tau) patients (42 eyes), 26 biomarker-determined probable Alzheimer's disease neuropathologic change (pADNC) patients (49 eyes), and 53 normal controls (80 eyes).

Association between Nucleoside and Nucleotide Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor Use and Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma Risk in All of Us.

Purpose: To assess the association between the systemic use of nucleoside and nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG).

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Participants: Individuals aged ≥40 years with linked electronic health record (EHR) data in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) All of Us dataset.

Association of changes in optical coherence tomography metrics with changes in refractive error in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration in the CATT.

Objective: Assess the change in refractive error (RE) in patients receiving anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy for exudative age-related macular degeneration.

Methods: Post hoc analysis of data from the Comparison of AMD Treatments Trials (CATT). Associations between spherical equivalent (SphE) change and optical coherence tomography (OCT) metrics were evaluated using correlation coefficients (r) and regression analyses stratified by baseline lens status.

The Rate of Failure of Trabeculectomy and Tube Shunt Surgery in Eyes with Uveitic Glaucoma and Ocular Hypertension.

Purpose: To evaluate the incidence of failure of trabeculectomy versus tube shunt (TS) glaucoma surgery in eyes of patients with uveitis.

Design: Multicenter retrospective cohort study.

Participants: Among 356 eyes of 288 patients with noninfectious inflammatory eye disease undergoing first incisional glaucoma surgery using one of the techniques, 244 eyes had TSs, and 112 eyes had trabeculectomy augmented with mitomycin-C (Trab-MMC).

Sleep Disturbances and Dry Eye Symptoms and Signs, Systemic Conditions, and Inflammatory Markers in the Dry Eye Assessment and Management Study.

Purpose: To investigate the association between sleep disturbances, dry eye disease (DED) severity, and DED risk factors.

Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of the Dry Eye Assessment and Management (DREAM) study, a randomized trial of 535 patients with moderate-to-severe DED. Participants self-reported sleep disturbances at baseline.

Association between congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction and otitis media.

Background: Anatomic abnormalities causing congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction (cNLDO) may be coincident with abnormalities predisposing to otitis media (OM). We evaluated the association between cNLDO and OM, considering surgical intervention as a marker of more severe disease.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cross-sectional study of children <5 years of age who received care from both a pediatrician and ophthalmologist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Effectiveness of Frequently Used TNF Inhibitors vs. Conventional Immunosuppressive Therapies for Noninfectious Uveitis.

Purpose: To compare the corticosteroid sparing efficacy of frequently used antimetabolites to tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors in the management of noninfectious ocular inflammation.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of patients with noninfectious uveitis on conventional antimetabolite (methotrexate, mycophenolate mofetil, azathioprine,or leflunomide, "CONV") or a TNF inhibitor (adalimumab or infliximab, "TNFi") with active inflammation or more than 7.5 mg daily prednisone.

Impact of definition of meibomian gland dysfunction on the frequency of MGD in dry eye disease from the DREAM© study.

Purpose: Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) is a common disease, yet there is no standard clinical definition. This study explored the frequency and characteristics of MGD in dry eye disease (DED) using different clinical definitions.

Methods: A secondary analysis of data collected from the DREAM© study participants (n = 535) with moderate-to-severe DED was undertaken.

Varenicline Solution Nasal Spray for the Treatment of Dry Eye Disease in Sjogren's Disease: A Pilot Study.

Purpose: We evaluated the efficacy of varenicline solution nasal spray (VNS) in treating dry eye disease (DED) associated with moderate to severe Sjogren's disease and analyzed tear film cytokine levels of patients with DED and Sjogren's disease before and after VNS use.

Methods: This was a pilot study involving a single-center, single-arm investigator-initiated trial. Patients with moderate to severe Sjogren's disease were given VNS 0.

Magnitude and Predictors of the Placebo Effects in the Dry Eye Assessment and Management Study.

Purpose: To determine the magnitude and predictors of placebo effects on dry eye symptoms and signs in the Dry Eye Assessment and Management (DREAM) study.

Design: Secondary analysis of data from the DREAM study, a large-scale multicenter randomized clinical trial of patients with moderate to severe dry eye disease (DED).

Participants: One hundred sixty-four participants who were randomized to the placebo group (daily oral 1000 mg refined olive oil) and completed a 12-month follow-up in 27 United States centers.

Common tandem repeat variants associated with glaucoma risk in individuals of African ancestry.

The contribution of common tandem repeats (TR) variants to common, complex disease remains unknown, especially in populations historically underrepresented in genetic research. We identified common TR variants associated with risk of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) in individuals of African ancestry. The POAG-associated TR variants were predominantly found at Alu poly(A) tail elements, regions, retinal development enhancers, and harbor binding sites of a POAG-associated transcription factor, LMX1B, suggesting a convergent mechanism of how common TR variation arises and contributes to POAG pathophysiology.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities at Enrollment in DRCRnet Clinical Trials for Diabetic Macular Edema.

Purpose: To assess racial/ethnic disparities and association with diabetic macular edema (DME) characteristics at enrollment in DRCR Retina Network (DRCRnet) DME clinical trials.

Design: Retrospective, cross-sectional analysis of data from DRCRnet clinical trials.

Subjects: 5468 participants in 17 DRCRnet DME trials (2003-2020).

Optic cup morphology associated with glaucomatous damage: Findings from the Primary Open-Angle African American Glaucoma Genetics (POAAGG) Study.

Purpose: While it has been well established that advanced glaucoma is associated with a large cup-to-disc ratio (CDR), it is not known if the shape of the cup, particularly excavated cups with expanded lower portions (bean-pot cups), play any additional role in glaucomatous damage. We investigated this among individuals of African ancestry, a population that is more vulnerable to glaucoma than any other ethnic group.

Design: Case-control study.

Associations of the Severity of Dry Eye Symptoms and Signs with Quality of Life in the Dry Eye Assessment and Management (DREAM) Study.

To assess associations of the severity of the symptoms and signs of dry eye disease (DED) with the quality of life in patients with moderate-to-severe DED. At baseline, 6 and 12 months, participants (n = 535) were assessed for DED symptoms using the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) and signs using conjunctival staining, corneal staining, tear break-up time (TBUT), Schirmer's testing, meibomian gland dysfunction, and tear osmolarity. Quality of life was evaluated using the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), consisting of a Physical Component Summary (PCS) and Mental Component Summary (MCS).

Incidence and Outcome of Cataract in Eyes with Scleritis and Episcleritis.

Purpose: To estimate the incidence and predictive factors for cataract in eyes with episcleritis and scleritis, and to evaluate the outcome of cataract surgery in those eyes.

Design: Retrospective cohort study at uveitis subspecialty centers.

Methods: One thousand three hundred eighty-four eyes with non-infectious scleritis and episcleritis at risk of cataract were included.