As a potent collagenase activator, ocriplasmin is a recombinant truncated form of serine protease that retains the protease activity of plasmin. Pre-clinical animal experiments, clinical trials and recent clinical studies all indicated a promising outcome of intravitreal injection of ocriplasmin to treat vitreomacular interface diseases, including vitreomacular adhesion (VMA), vitreomacular traction (VMT) and full-thickness macular hole. Ocriplasmin was approved by the Food and Drug Administration of USA in the management of symptomatic VMA, and by the European Medicines Agency in treating VMT-associated macular hole with less than or equal 400 μm. Further randomized controlled clinical trials are needed for further comprehensive observation and evaluation on its efficiency, safety and other noteworthy issues.
Peripapillary intrachoroidal cavitation (PICC) is a common pathological change observed in high myopia. The exact pathogenesis of PICC is still unclear. Expansion and mechanical stretching of the peripapillary sclera, breakage and defect in the retina near the border of the myopic conus and communication between intrachoroidal cavity and the vitreous space may be important segments during the development of PICC. Color fundus photography shows a localized and well-circumscribed peripapillary lesion with yellow-orange colour, often accompanied by fundus changes, such as myopic conus excavation, optic disc tilting and inferotemporal retinal vein bending at the transition from the PICC to the myopic conus. However, the PICC lesion is not easy to be recognized in the fundus photography. Fluorescein angiography shows early hypofluorescence and later progressively staining in the lesion. Indocyanine green angiography shows hypofluorescence throughout the examination. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is vital in diagnosing PICC. Hyporeflective cavities inside the choroid, sometimes communicating with the vitreous chamber, can be observed in OCT images. OCT angiography indicates lower vessel density or even absence of choriocapillary network inside or around PICC lesions.
The mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) belongs to the nuclear receptor superfamily and is expressed in the retina and choroid. MR antagonist (MRA) has a long history of application in non-ophthalmic clinical practice. Various cellular and animal models indicated that inappropriate activation of MR participated in pathological angiogenesis, oxidative stress, inflammation, disturbance of ion/water homeostasis and neurodegenerative changes, while the application of MRA can reduce or reverse these pathological processes. After using MRA in central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) patients, improved visual function, less subretinal fluid and reduced sub-foveal choroidal thickness were observed. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in MR and plasma aldosterone levels were significantly different between chronic CSC patients and CSC patients with spontaneous remission. Novel formulation for sustained-release MRA and the mechanisms involving inflammation may become the new focus of MR study. This review summarizes the research status of MR and MRA in order to provide a reference for future basic research and clinical treatment.
Diabetic macular edema (DME) is the main cause of visual impairment in diabetic retinopathy patients. It mainly includes focal DME and diffuse DME, while DME of clinical significance needs timely intervention treatment. Optical coherence tomography is currently recognized as the most sensitive method to accurately diagnose DME. Currently, the common treatments of DME include intravitreal injection of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) or glucocorticoid and laser photocoagulation. Among them, anti-VEGF injection is becoming the first-line therapeutic, and corresponding individual treatment or combined treatment strategy should be selected according to the characteristics of DME and the specific conditions of patients. During the diagnosis and treatment of DME, attention should be paid to the systemic treatment of diabetes and the effect of diabetes-related neuroretinopathy on the therapeutic effect of DME. With the appearance of heterogeneity in the efficacy of anti-VEGF drugs, it remains to be further studied how to choose alternative therapeutics and when to replace them.
Pathological myopia is one of the most challenging clinical diseases in the field of ophthalmology. The accurate definition, standard classification, disease evolution mechanism and disease prevention and treatment strategies are still under investigation. The development and application of artificial intelligence provides a powerful tool for the analysis of pathological myopia related data. More and more accurate data information is obtained in the clinical work and clinical research of pathological myopia through the standardized collection and acquisition of the fundus image data, the automatic segmentation and quantitative analysis of the fundus physiological structure, the automatic detection and analysis of the pathological myopia classic lesions and the clinical diagnosis and treatment decision aid, which helps ophthalmologists to understand the pathogenesis and evolution of pathological myopia.
Intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF drugs has gradually become the first-line treatment for diabetic retinopathy (DR). However, diabetic macular edema (DME) caused by DR blood-retinal barrier damage is less sensitive to anti-VEGF drugs.Therefore, it is necessary to find supplementary drugs or alternative drugs that can effectively protect the structure of the blood vessel wall. Melatonin is a hormone mainly secreted by the pineal gland, which can play a number of functions in the human body such as regulating biological rhythms, scavenging free radicals, and anti-inflammatory. In recent years, studies have shown that melatonin can improve neuronal degeneration and protect blood vessel structure through multiple mechanisms in retinopathy. In terms of its protective effect on the retinal capillary structure, melatonin can improve the damage of early DR endothelial cells and pericytes through anti-oxidative stress, anti-inflammatory, and inhibiting cell apoptosis so as to protect the integrity of the blood-retinal barrier structure. It suggests that melatonin may provide new ideas for the prevention and treatment of DR, especially with DME.
Myopia has become a major problem that threatens human health worldwide. Complications caused by high myopia are one of the leading causes of low vision and blindness. As a chronic disease that seriously threatens ocular health in the clinical practice and public health fields, the prevention and control of high myopia should actively promote a tertiary prevention strategy, and take advantages of the latest fundus imaging technology and big data technology, artificial intelligence to explore the evolution mechanism of “myopia→high myopia→pathological myopia”. Special efforts should be focused on the establishment of a scientific myopia prediction model, implementation of effective high myopia monitoring and management, and early detection and treatment of complications of high myopia to reduce the incidence of low vision and blindness.
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of blindness in the working-age population, and it is a key ocular fundus disease that needs to be paid attention to in the next five years according to the "14th Five-Year" Plan for Eye Health. Promoting the systematic management of DR and constructing the chronic disease management system are the key to the next step of national eye health work. It is necessary to further improve the management mode of the whole course of DR patients with chronic eye disease through the joint action of medical security system at all levels, including strengthening supporting policies of primary medical institutions, optimizing medical service mode and process, strengthening scientific education to improve patients' and doctors' disease cognition, and updating authoritative Chinese DR guidelines to standardize diagnosis and treatment. It is hoped that the low vision and blindness caused by DR in China can be greatly reduced after the implementation of the "14th Five-Year" Plan for Eye Health.
Maculopathy caused by various fundus diseases in the late stage is a common cause of low vision. Medical technology is difficult to reverse the loss of macular function currently, so interventions that help improve the visual system, utilize residual visual function, and improve quality of life deserve attention. Damage to the fovea of the macula does not mean that the entire retinal function is impaired. There may be one or more retinal regions adjacent to the fovea that can serve as a fixation center. It is possible to form stable paracentral fixation, complete functional remodeling of the visual system, and effectively utilize residual visual function by taking appropriate training on these potential paracentral fixation points for most patients. In 2021, a clinical guideline has been published for low vision rehabilitation in China. In order to strengthen the precise management of diseases and develop a standard operating procedure for visual training specifically for patients with low vision due to macular disease, the National Clinical Research Center for Eye Diseases initiated and organized relevant domestic experts, utilizing the latest research experience at home and abroad, and through repeated discussions, this consensus (International Practice Guideline Registration Number: PREPARE-2023CN199) was formed as a reference for ophthalmologists, optometrists and rehabilitation physicians in their clinical research and practice.
The main fundus changes of pathologic myopia (PM) are posterior staphyloma (PS) and myopic maculopathy (MM), which includes myopic atrophy maculopathy (MAM), myopic tractional maculopathy (MTM), myopic neovascular maculopathy (MNM) and so on. The clinical manifestations of PM-related fundus lesions are complex, and the classification of PM has been a research hotspot in recent years. The proposal of each classification shows an increasing understanding of PM, and each classification has its advantages but also imperfections. For MM, it is recommended to refine the MTM classification based on the ATN classification and adjust it according to the internal correlation between MAM and MNM. The rapid development of modern imaging technology will promote the continuous update of the classification, and its further improvement will also help to understand the development process of PM, which has important clinical value in preventing its occurrence and progression.