Developments in Ophthalmology

Glaucoma drainage implant (GDI) surgery represents a significant advance in the treatment of refractory glaucomas. Recent randomized clinical trials have compared the efficacy and safety of this technique to standard trabeculectomy. Several types of implant are currently available and differ in surface area, shape, composition, and the presence or absence of a flow-restricting valve. Two separate prospective, randomized clinical trials comparing 2 types of GDI have reported results after 5 years of follow-up...

Filtering surgery evolved from the classic trabeculectomy, in which penetration into the anterior chamber is a necessary step, toward nonpenetrating deep sclerectomy. The first procedure presents several serious complications, such as durable hypotony, hyphema, flat anterior chamber, choroidal detachment, endophthalmitis, and surgery-induced cataract. To avoid such drawbacks, a novel nonpenetrating technique was designed to improve the predictability of the intraocular pressure (IOP)-lowering action, while reducing the incidence of the immediate postoperative complications encountered with the penetrating method...

Trabeculectomy with antifibrotic treatment is still the most popular incisional procedure for glaucoma filtration surgery (GFS) worldwide. The advent of antifibrotic agents reduced failure due to scarring but resulted in increased complications. Advances in trabeculectomy surgery have been driven by the need to minimise the risk of: (1) complications and (2) surgical failure. This chapter covers preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative strategies, which improve the outcome of GFS. Strategies to reduce the risk of complications centre on the prevention of postoperative hypotony by minimising the risk of overdrainage, postoperative wound leaks, and poor bleb morphology...

Prescribing medical therapy for the treatment of glaucoma can be a complex process since many parameters should be taken into consideration regarding its achievements and limits. Today, a variety of options, including multiple drug classes and multiple agents within classes, are available to the clinician, but caution should be given to their side effects and contraindications. Glaucoma patients with preexisting ocular surface disease should be treated with caution, and preferably with preservative-free formulations, as there is an increased risk for symptom deterioration...

Two critical questions one must answer as one applies the results of a clinical trial to clinical practice are: (1) Regardless of whether the trial result is likely to be replicated or reproduced in a second large-scale trial, are the results likely to be reproduced in one's practice? (2) Regardless of whether the experimental treatment was better than the alternative on average for a population of patients, are the results clinically important for a given patient in one's practice? To determine if a study result is likely to be reproduced in one's clinical practice, it may be helpful to answer 5 questions: (1) Have steps been taken to minimize bias? (2) Is the result likely due to the treatment? (3) Is the result unlikely due to chance? (4) Is the study population representative of one's patients? (5) Is the totality of evidence consistent? If the answer to all 5 questions is "yes," then we posit that the trial result is likely to be reproduced in one's practice...

Diabetic macular edema (DME) is the most common cause of vision loss in diabetic patients, and its management is often a long process requiring frequent monitoring and therapeutic interventions. During the past several decades, numerous treatments have been developed for the treatment of DME. Although many of them have been found to be effective and safe, there is relatively little comparative data, and no established guidelines for the optimal treatment approach exist. In this chapter, the evolution of DME therapies is reviewed, and the current common practice patterns are discussed...

Vitreomacular traction (VMT) is one of many possible factors involved in the etiology of diabetic macular edema (DME). Pharmacologic vitreoretinal separation is a potential alternative to vitrectomy for VMT in diabetic retinopathy. Small case series have been published on the use of enzymatic vitreolysis in tractional DME, and demonstrate that the enzymatic release of the posterior vitreous cortex is more likely following the injection of plasmin enzyme. Further prospective and randomized clinical trials are necessary to evaluate the clinical relevance of ocriplasmin for vitreomacular traction in diabetic retinopathy, and additional studies are needed to determine more accurately which patients might benefit most from this treatment and how often and at what concentration ocriplasmin should be administered...

Technical advancements have substantially extended the indications for surgery in diabetic retinopathy (DR) during the last 40 years, from the traditional indications including non-clearing vitreous hemorrhage, traction retinal detachment (RD), and traction-rhegmatogenous RD, to epiretinal membrane (ERM), vitreomacular traction, diffuse macular edema, neovascular glaucoma, and anterior hyaloid fibrovascular proliferation. The goals of vitreoretinal surgery in DR are multiple: clearing media opacities, release of traction (anteroposterior and/or tangential), segmentation and/or removal of traction bands, peeling of ERMs, hemostasis, laser photocoagulation, and tamponade of retinal breaks with gas or silicone oil...

For decades, panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) has been the standard of care for the treatment of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). The relatively recent advent of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) formulations for intravitreal injection has provided a fresh perspective on PDR treatment, especially in eyes with concurrent diabetic macular edema (DME). The anti-VEGF agent ranibizumab has demonstrated a potentially protective effect on eyes with DME in terms of progression to PDR in the RIDE/RISE trials, as has aflibercept in the VIVID/VISTA trials...

Laser treatment was used in the past to reduce the visual loss due to diabetic macular edema. The recent advent of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) has completely revolutionized the management of diabetic retinopathy, with a significant improvement in the overall prognosis. Nevertheless, macular laser can still be applied in selected cases characterized by retinal thickness ≤400 microns, high visual acuity, extrafoveal location, and contraindications to the intravitreal approach with anti-VEGF and steroids...

PURPOSE: To review the results of Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network Protocol T, as applied to clinical practice. METHODS: Review of major publications reporting the results of Protocol T, a randomized single-masked (in year-1 only), multicenter clinical trial comparing aflibercept, bevacizumab, and ranibizumab as treatment option for center-involving diabetic macular edema (DME). The main outcome measures were change in visual acuity (VA), central subfield thickness (CST) on optical coherence tomography, cost effectiveness, burden of care, and safety...

Protocol I, a multicenter randomized clinical trial, compared the visual outcomes of patients treated with 0.5 mg intravitreal ranibizumab with either prompt or deferred (by 24 weeks laser), 4 mg intravitreal triamcinolone with prompt laser, or sham injection with prompt laser for the treatment of center-involving diabetic macular edema (DME). A total of 854 adult patients with type I or II diabetes and any level of non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy or proliferative retinopathy with adequate panretinal photocoagulation, with best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 78 to 24 ETDRS letters (Snellen equivalent of 20/32 to 20/320) and visual loss attributed to macular edema, or retinal thickening with central subfield thickness of at least 250 µm by OCT were enrolled...

Over the past decade, great strides have been made in the management of diabetic macular edema (DME). Therapeutic alternatives now include focal/grid laser photocoagulation, vitreo-retinal surgery, and intraocular injection of anti-angiogenic and steroid molecules. Intravitreal administration of steroids represents a fundamental alternative for recalcitrant and naive eyes with DME, especially in those cases when anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents are contraindicated or a treatment regimen with fewer intravitreal injections is required...

For decades, macular laser photocoagulation has been the standard of care in the treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME). With the relatively recent advent of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents, DME treatment has entered a new era. VEGF is a well-known pro-angiogenic and pro-permeability factor involved in the pathogenesis of DME. VEGF blockade has proven remarkably effective at reducing DME and improving visual acuity (VA) in eyes with center involved DME causing VA loss in several randomized controlled trials (RCTs)...

Intravitreal ranibizumab (RBZ) has been shown in multiple randomized clinical trials to be a valuable treatment for diabetic macular edema (DME), promoting a significant improvement in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and in anatomic outcomes. Compared to sham (RISE and RIDE studies), RBZ rapidly and sustainably improved BCVA and decreased macular edema at 2 years, reducing the risk of further vision loss, with low rates of local or systemic side effects. Compared to macular laser photocoagulation (READ-2 study), RBZ provided a greater improvement in BCVA and regression in foveal thickness, but required a higher number of injections compared to patients treated with both RBZ and laser...

Diabetic retinopathy (DR), a major microvascular complication of diabetes, has a significant impact on the world's health systems. Globally, the number of people with DR will grow from 126.6 million in 2010 to 191.0 million by 2030, and it is estimated that the number with vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy will increase from 37.3 million to 56.3 million if prompt action is not taken. Lack of early diagnosis and management is the leading cause of blindness in working-age populations The gap between demand and annual eye examinations has been a big challenge...

Fluorescein angiography (FA) is a useful test in patients affected by diabetic retinopathy (DR) to evaluate the blood-retinal barrier integrity and the presence of non-perfused areas, vascular leakage, microvascular abnormalities, and neovascularization. The peripheral retina is involved in most DR lesions, and, thus, its proper visualization is crucial for the screening, diagnosis, monitoring, treatment, and prognosis of DR. To expand the field of view, wide-field and ultra-wide-field imaging have been developed, allowing images up to 200° of retinal surface in one single photo...

Fluorescein angiography (FA) and indocyanine green angiography have provided information about the normal retinal and choroidal anatomy, nearly comparable to histological findings. These tests have been fundamental in the evaluation of all retinal and choroidal vascular diseases and have allowed clinicians to define and diagnose several pathological conditions. FA became the "gold standard" in retinal imaging due to the capacity to visualize the retinal capillary bed and its changes, both in the macular area and in the periphery...

Almost 25 years after its introduction, optical coherence tomography (OCT) is still a crucial test in the evaluation of patients affected by diabetic retinopathy. In this chapter, the authors provide an extensive overview of the posterior segment pathological changes induced by diabetes, characterized using OCT. OCT plays a key role in diabetic macular edema (DME) as it assesses related retinal changes both in a qualitative (i.e., DME pattern, presence and aspects of cysts, fluid localization, integrity, and reflectivity of retinal layers) and quantitative (i...

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a frequent complication of diabetes mellitus (DM). Persistent hyperglycemia leads to the activation of multiple cellular pathways involved in the pathogenesis of DR, resulting in increased inflammation, oxidative stress, and vascular dysfunction. DR has been considered a "chronic, low-grade inflammatory disease of the retina". However, an increasing body of evidence suggests that inflammation and neurodegeneration both occur in human diabetes even before the development of clinical signs of DR...