Risk of Osteonecrosis in Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Patients with Varying Cumulative Corticosteroid Dosages in the First 3 Months: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study.

Background: To compare the risk of osteonecrosis (ON) among patients with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) receiving varying cumulative corticosteroid dosages and to evaluate changes in risk over time.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from 1,512 patients with VKH in Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database from 2000 to 2019. Patients were categorized based on cumulative prednisone-equivalent dosages in the first 3 months of treatment as follows: low dose ( = 544; 0 < dose ≤ 2 g), medium dose ( = 369; 2 < dose ≤ 4 g), high dose ( = 332; > 4 g), and non-users ( = 267; 0 g).

Myopic Regression After FS-LASIK and SMILE.

Purpose: To compare the degree of myopic regression after myopia correction with either femtosecond laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (FS-LASIK) or small-incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) over 18 months.

Methods: Patients undergoing FS-LASIK or SMILE surgery for myopia correction were retrospectively recruited. The propensity scores were used to match patients by age and preoperative manifest spherical equivalent (SEQ) from these 2 groups.

Changes in peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer and ocular parameters in acute anterior uveitis.

Clinical Relevance: Acute anterior uveitis (AAU) can lead to the thickening of the peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer (pRNFL) and induce refractive changes during its active phase.

Background: AAU is a common form of uveitis characterised by inflammation in the anterior chamber. A notable prevalence of optical coherence tomography - defined pRNFL thickening was observed among patients with AAU.

Impact of dry eye disease treatment on patient quality of life.

Dry eye disease (DED) is a common multifactorial disease affecting a substantial proportion of the population worldwide. Objective tests and subjective symptoms evaluation are necessary to assess DED. Although various treatments have been introduced, accurately evaluating the efficacy of those treatments is difficult because of the disparity between diagnostic tests and patient-reported symptoms.

The Association Between Ocular Residual Astigmatism and the Efficacy of Astigmatism Correction Via Small Incision Lenticule Extraction (SMILE).

Introduction: Astigmatism correction after small-incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) surgery is affected by several factors, including ocular residual astigmatism (ORA), which accounts for the vector difference between refractive and corneal astigmatism. Previous studies revealed the relationship between ORA and astigmatism correction after laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK). However, in SMILE surgery, no comprehensive study exploring the link between these two variables has been performed.

Risk analysis for patients with arterial thromboembolic events after intravitreal ranibizumab or aflibercept injections.

Intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents have been increasingly applied in the treatment of retinal neovascular diseases. Concerns have arisen that these intravitreal agents may be associated with a potential risk of arterial thromboembolic (ATE) events. We conducted a retrospective, nationwide population-based cohort study to analyze the risks for ATE events in patients receiving intravitreal ranibizumab (IVR) or intravitreal aflibercept (IVA).

Association of lipid-lowering agent use and dry eye disease: A nationwide matched case-control study in Taiwan, 2002-2016.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the association between lipid-lowering agent use and the risks of diagnosed dry eye disease (DED).

Methods: This retrospective, case-control study included 780 786 patients who received lipid-lowering agents in 2002-2016, of which 17 409 were newly diagnosed with DED during a ≥2-year follow-up period. These patients were matched 1:4 with control participants for age, sex, and comorbidities.

Refractive outcomes of femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery with arcuate keratotomy and standard phacoemulsification with toric intraocular lens implantation.

Purpose: Femtosecond laser arcuate keratotomy (FS-AK) and toric intraocular lens (IOL) implantation are effective for the correction of eyes with corneal astigmatism. In this study, the postoperative refractive outcomes of patients receiving femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) with FS-AK and patients receiving standard phacoemulsification with toric IOL implantation were evaluated.

Methods: This retrospective study reviewed the postoperative outcomes of patients undergoing FLACS with FS-AK (the FS-AK group) and patients undergoing standard phacoemulsification with toric IOL implantation (the toric IOL group).

Stepwise candidate drug screening for myopia control by using zebrafish, mouse, and Golden Syrian Hamster myopia models.

Background: We developed a preclinical protocol for the screening of candidate drugs able to control myopia and prevent its progression. The protocol uses zebrafish, C57BL/6 mice, and golden Syrian hamster models of myopia.

Methods: A morpholino (MO) targeting the zebrafish lumican gene (zlum) was injected into single-cell zebrafish embryos, causing excessive expansion of the sclera.

Initial Presentation Sites as Predictors of Herpes Zoster Complications: A Nationwide Cohort Study.

Herpes zoster (HZ) is associated with complications such as postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) and HZ ophthalmicus (HZO). However, few studies have focused on identifying patients having a high risk of PHN and HZO according to the initial presentation sites. The current study investigated these factors in a nationwide population-based cohort derived from Taiwan's Longitudinal Health Insurance Database.

T Cells Expressing CD19/CD20 Bispecific Chimeric Antigen Receptors Prevent Antigen Escape by Malignant B Cells.

The adoptive transfer of T cells expressing anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) has shown remarkable curative potential against advanced B-cell malignancies, but multiple trials have also reported patient relapses due to the emergence of CD19-negative leukemic cells. Here, we report the design and optimization of single-chain, bispecific CARs that trigger robust cytotoxicity against target cells expressing either CD19 or CD20, two clinically validated targets for B-cell malignancies. We determined the structural parameters required for efficient dual-antigen recognition, and we demonstrate that optimized bispecific CARs can control both wild-type B-cell lymphoma and CD19(-) mutants with equal efficiency in vivo To our knowledge, this is the first bispecific CAR capable of preventing antigen escape by performing true OR-gate signal computation on a clinically relevant pair of tumor-associated antigens.

Quantitative Analyses of Core Promoters Enable Precise Engineering of Regulated Gene Expression in Mammalian Cells.

Inducible transcription systems play a crucial role in a wide array of synthetic biology circuits. However, the majority of inducible promoters are constructed from a limited set of tried-and-true promoter parts, which are susceptible to common shortcomings such as high basal expression levels (i.e.

Factors Influencing Intraocular Pressure Changes after Laser In Situ Keratomileusis with Flaps Created by Femtosecond Laser or Mechanical Microkeratome.

The aim of this study is to describe factors that influence the measured intraocular pressure (IOP) change and to develop a predictive model after myopic laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) with a femtosecond (FS) laser or a microkeratome (MK). We retrospectively reviewed preoperative, intraoperative, and 12-month postoperative medical records in 2485 eyes of 1309 patients who underwent LASIK with an FS laser or an MK for myopia and myopic astigmatism. Data were extracted, such as preoperative age, sex, IOP, manifest spherical equivalent (MSE), central corneal keratometry (CCK), central corneal thickness (CCT), and intended flap thickness and postoperative IOP (postIOP) at 1, 6 and 12 months.

Cox proportional hazards model of myopic regression for laser in situ keratomileusis flap creation with a femtosecond laser and with a mechanical microkeratome.

Purpose: To compare predictive factors for postoperative myopic regression between laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) with a femtosecond laser and LASIK with a mechanical microkeratome.

Setting: Nobel Eye Clinic, Taipei, Taiwan.

Design: Retrospective comparative study.

Medical treatment for combined Fusarium and Acanthamoeba keratitis.

Purpose: Acanthamoeba and fungal keratitis are rare ocular infections. We report cases of combined Fusarium and Acanthamoeba keratitis and the clinical course of medical treatment.

Methods: We reviewed the medical records of patients treated for culture-proven Acanthamoeba keratitis at a referral centre, during 2001-2006.

Deposition of exon-skipping splice isoform of human retinal G protein-coupled receptor from retinal pigment epithelium into Bruch's membrane.

Purpose: Human retina and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) express a relatively abundant mRNA that encodes an extraneous splice isoform of the RPE retinal G protein-coupled receptor (RGR) opsin. In this study, we investigate this exon-skipping RGR splice isoform (RGR-d) in separated neural retina and RPE cells of human donors of various ages.

Methods: We used mass spectrometry, sensitive western blot assay, immunohistochemical localization and real-time RT-PCR to analyze RGR-d.

Exon-skipping variant of RGR opsin in human retina and pigment epithelium.

An extraneous exon-skipping mRNA encodes an altered form of a light-absorbing opsin in human retina and pigment epithelium (RPE). The predicted protein variant differs from full-length RPE-retinal G protein-coupled receptor (RGR) by having an in-frame deletion of exon 6, which contains the entire sixth transmembrane domain. To verify that the exon 6-deleted RGR protein (RGR-d) exists in human retinas, we have produced RGR-d antibody probes.

Transcriptional regulation of the Grp78 promoter by endoplasmic reticulum stress: role of TFII-I and its tyrosine phosphorylation.

TFII-I is a signal-induced multi-functional transcription factor that has recently been implicated as a regulatory component of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response. TFII-I acts through ER stress-induced binding to the ER stress element, which is highly conserved in promoters of ER stress-inducible genes such as Grp78/BiP. Interestingly, its tyrosine phosphorylation sites are required for its activation of the Grp78 promoter.