IL-6 amplifies corneal transplant alloimmunity by inducing dysfunctional IFN-γ- secreting Treg through the VEGFA-VEGFR1 axis.

Background: Corneal allografts generally exhibit high acceptance due to the immune-privileged ocular microenvironment. Regulatory T cells (Treg) promote graft tolerance; however, in a vascularized milieu, they may acquire a pro-inflammatory phenotype. We investigated how dysfunctional Treg contribute to graft rejection through the VEGFA-VEGFR1 axis.

Effector T Cells Promote Fibrosis in Corneal Transplantation Failure.

Purpose: To evaluate whether fibrosis contributes to corneal transplant failure and to determine whether effector CD4+ T cells, the key immune cells in corneal transplant rejection, play a direct role in fibrosis formation.

Methods: Allogeneic corneal transplantation was performed in mice. Graft opacity was evaluated by slit-lamp biomicroscopy, and fibrosis was assessed by in vivo confocal microscopy.

Visual results and subjective satisfaction after implantation of two different trifocal diffractive intraocular lenses models (AcrySof IQ PanOptix and AT LISA tri 839 MP).

Background: This study aimed to compare visual results following the implantation of two distinct diffractive trifocal IOLs utilizing various vision evaluation techniques and subjective satisfaction.

Methods: The study included 32 eyes receiving AcrySof IQ PanOptix implantation and 32 receiving AT LISA tri 839 MP. Post-operative examination at one year included uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), distance-corrected visual acuity (DCVA) at 4 m, 80 cm, 60 cm, and 40 cm, Contrast sensitivity under photopic and mesopic conditions, and a questionnaire on subjective quality of vision, optical phenomena, and spectacle independence.

Is Demodex Blepharitis Connected With Cataract Surgery?

Purpose: To determine whether there is an increased incidence of Demodex of the eyelashes among patients after cataract extraction surgery.

Design: Prospective, noncomparative clinical study.

Methods: A cohort of patients who underwent cataract extraction surgery had several eyelashes removed preoperatively that were examined independently by the hospital laboratory for the presence of the Demodex mite.

Differences in retinal images quality between normal and subclinical keratoconus and its association to posterior corneal asymmetry.

Purpose: To compare retinal image quality in subclinical keratoconus and normal eyes using a double-pass aberrometer and to correlate it with posterior surface deformation.

Methods: Sixty normal corneas were compared to 20 subclinical keratoconus (SKC) corneas. Retinal image quality was assessed using a double-pass system in all the eyes.

SYRINGE DESIGN AND FILLING TECHNIQUE AFFECT ACCURACY OF ANTI-VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTOR INTRAVITREAL INJECTIONS.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of syringe design and filling technique on the accuracy of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor delivery.

Methods: Volume output was measured with three syringe designs: a 1.0-mL slip-tip syringe, a 1.

Real-world experience with belantamab mafodotin therapy for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma: A multicentre retrospective study.

Belantamab mafodotin, an immuno-conjugate targeting B-cell maturation antigen, showed single-agent activity in phase 1 and 2 studies, and was recently approved for heavily pretreated relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) patients. Real-world data and long-term follow-up are scarce. We conducted a multisite retrospective study aimed to assess safety and efficacy of belantamab mafodotin monotherapy administered via the GSK expanded access compassionate care programme.

Intravitreal air bubbles following intravitreal injections: a comprehensive analysis.

Purpose: To evaluate the prevalence of residual air bubbles following intravitreal injections of anti-VEGF agents, and to compare two techniques designed to reduce their occurrence.

Methods: Patients who received intravitreal injections reported the presence of air bubbles following the procedure, and were followed to determine when they disappeared. Two techniques used to reduce air bubbles prior to injection were compared-tapping the syringe with the needle up ("upwards" technique) or down ("downwards" technique).

The 100 Most Cited Articles on Vitrectomy: A Bibliographic Perspective.

Purpose: To analyze the 100 most-cited articles on pars plana vitrectomy (PPV).

Design: Bibliographic study.

Methods: Literature search using the bibliographic databases of the ISI Web of Knowledge, limited to research articles published between 1971 and 2018 in peer-reviewed journals of ophthalmology.

Distinguishing Highly Asymmetric Keratoconus Eyes Using Dual Scheimpflug/Placido Analysis.

Purpose: To identify the best metrics or combination of metrics that provide the highest predictive power between normal eyes and the clinically unaffected eye of patients with highly asymmetric keratoconus using data from a Dual Scheimpflug/Placido device.

Design: Retrospective case-control study.

Methods: Combined Dual Scheimpflug/Placido imaging was obtained from the Galilei G4 device (Ziemer Ophthalmic Systems AG, Port, Switzerland) in 31 clinically unaffected eyes with highly asymmetric keratoconus and 178 eyes from 178 patients with bilaterally normal corneal examinations that underwent uneventful LASIK with at least 1 year follow-up.

Corneal Blood Staining after Complicated Cataract Surgery.

Purpose: To report the case of a patient with corneal blood staining after a complicated cataract surgery.

Observations: We report on a 68-year-old woman who developed corneal blood staining secondary to hyphema after cataract surgery, despite the fact that intraocular pressure was not increased for a prolonged time. The corneal staining spontaneously cleared from the periphery towards the center.

Differences in Posterior Corneal Features Between Normal Corneas and Subclinical Keratoconus.

Purpose: To compare posterior corneal features and their discriminating power for differentiating normal corneas from subclinical keratoconus using the Placido dual-Scheimpflug analyzer.

Methods: Patients were retrospectively included in the study. The preoperative normal right eyes of 79 patients imaged with a Placido dual-Scheimpflug system and with a stable postoperative LASIK follow-up of a minimum of 36 months were included in the normal group and were compared to 39 contralateral topographically normal eyes with clinically evident keratoconus in the fellow eye.

Publication outcome of abstracts submitted to the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting.

Objective: Abstracts submitted to meetings are subject to less rigorous peer review than full-text manuscripts. This study aimed to explore the publication outcome of abstracts presented at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) annual meeting.

Methods: Abstracts presented at the 2008 AAO meeting were analyzed.

Extraocular muscle damage from dental implant penetration to the orbit.

Purpose: To demonstrate an unusual case of orbital trauma due to dental surgery complication.

Observations: An elderly patient who underwent dental implantation to the zygomatic bone was hospitalized in the ophthalmology department with impaired abduction of her right eye, also evident on ocular examination. Head computed tomography demonstrated damage to the lateral rectus and to the inferior oblique muscles.

Positive Results Bias and Impact Factor in Ophthalmology.

Purpose: Previous studies in several fields of medicine have reported an association between the result of a trial (positive versus negative) and the impact factor of the journal in which it is published. The purpose of this study was to test the hypotheses that in the field of ophthalmology: (1) studies with positive results have a greater chance of being published in journals with a higher impact factor; (2) likewise, studies with a larger number of participants are more likely to be published in journals with a higher impact factor.

Methods: In this retrospective study, consecutive randomized, controlled trials conducted in the field of ophthalmology between 1 January 2010 and 1 January 2013 were retrieved from PubMed.

Bmp5/7 in concert with the mid-hindbrain organizer control development of noradrenergic locus coeruleus neurons.

The locus coeruleus (LC) which is the major noradrenergic nucleus in the brain develops under the influence of Bmps secreted by the roof plate and Fgf8 emitted from the mid-hindbrain organizer. We studied the development of the LC in different Bmp mouse mutants and report the absence of this nucleus in Bmp5(-/-);Bmp7(-/-) double knockouts. Notably, genes marking organizers and neuronal populations adjacent to the LC precursor field are unperturbed in Bmp5(-/-);Bmp7(-/-) animals.