Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yi-Ping Yang, Yu-Jer Hsiao, Kao-Jung Chang, Shania Foustine, Yu-Ling Ko, Yi-Ching Tsai, Hsiao-Yun Tai, Yu-Chieh Ko, Shih-Hwa Chiou, Tai-Chi Lin, Shih-Jen Chen, Yueh Chien, De-Kuang Hwang
Summary: Human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) have the potential to replace diseased or injured tissues and are widely used in regenerative medicine. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can differentiate into various cell types and are being explored for the treatment of retinal diseases. Further clinical trials are needed to assess the efficacy and adverse effects of iPSC-based therapies.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Ophthalmology
Assaf Hilely, Adrian Au, K. Bailey Freund, Anat Loewenstein, Eric H. Souied, Dinah Zur, Riccardo Sacconi, Enrico Borrelli, Enrico Peiretti, Claudio Iovino, Yoshimi Sugiura, Abdallah A. Ellabban, Jordi Mones, Nadia K. Waheed, Sengul Ozdek, Duygu Yalinbas, Sarah Thiele, Luisa Salles de Moura Mendonca, Mee Yon Lee, Won Ki Lee, Pierre Turcotte, Vittorio Capuano, Meryem Filali Ansary, Usha Chakravarthy, Albrecht Lommatzsch, Frederic Gunnemann, Daniel Pauleikhoff, Michael S. Ip, Giuseppe Querques, Frank G. Holz, Richard F. Spaide, SriniVas Sadda, David Sarraf
Summary: This study evaluated the patterns of subretinal fluid in eyes with non-neovascular AMD and found that SRF may be a result of RPE decompensation and RPE pump failure.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Shruti Chandra, Manjot K. Grewal, Sarega Gurudas, Rajan Sondh, Alan Bird, Glen Jeffery, Victor Chong, Sobha Sivaprasad
Summary: The qAF8 levels in patients with non-neovascular AMD were found to be significantly lower compared to age-matched controls, indicating a early and sustained loss of function of the retinal pigment epithelium in AMD.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Maria Hytti, Eveliina Korhonen, Heidi Hongisto, Kai Kaarniranta, Heli Skottman, Anu Kauppinen
Summary: The study showed that iPSC-RPE cells from AMD patients exhibit increased secretion of IL-1β and reduced levels of IL-6 and MCP-1 when protein clearance was partially inhibited. This suggests that dysfunctional cellular clearance mechanisms may already be present in cells originating from AMD patients, leading to inflammasome activation.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Ophthalmology
Tommaso Bacci, Juliet O. Essilfie, Belinda C. S. Leong, K. Bailey Freund
Summary: The study describes a new clinical phenotype of exudative non-neovascular AMD characterized by intraretinal exudation causing macular edema. It emphasizes the importance of multimodal imaging in differentiating this condition from other manifestations of AMD. Further research is needed to assess the clinical impact and optimal management of exudative non-neovascular AMD.
GRAEFES ARCHIVE FOR CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL OPHTHALMOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Cell Biology
Hanna Helotera, Kai Kaarniranta
Summary: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of visual impairment in the aging population. It is classified into dry and neovascular forms, with neovascular AMD being associated with angiogenesis and inflammatory regulators.
Article
Ophthalmology
Styliani Blazaki, Emmanouil Blavakis, Gregory Chlouverakis, Georgios Bontzos, Irini Chatziralli, Georgios Smoustopoulos, Eleni Dimitriou, Anastasios Stavrakakis, Stamatina Kabanarou, Tina Xirou, Demetrios G. Vavvas, Miltiadis K. Tsilimbaris
Summary: In this study, it was found that patients with neovascular AMD (nAMD) treated with anti-VEGF had a higher incidence and progression rate of macular atrophy (MA) compared to their fellow eyes with dry AMD (dAMD). However, if MA developed in the fellow dAMD eyes, it progressed faster over time compared to MA in nAMD eyes.
GRAEFES ARCHIVE FOR CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL OPHTHALMOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Liang-Wei Lin, Shih-Wei Wang, Wei-Chien Huang, Thanh Kieu Huynh, Chao-Yang Lai, Chih-Yuan Ko, Yi-Chin Fong, Jie-Jen Lee, Shun-Fa Yang, Chih-Hsin Tang
Summary: Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a disease characterized by abnormal blood vessel growth in the retina, leading to severe vision loss. The presence of certain markers in the retinas of AMD patients suggests a contribution of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in this pathogenesis. This study explores the potential of melatonin, a hormone produced in the retina, to inhibit EPC angiogenesis in neovascular AMD. The results demonstrate that melatonin can effectively inhibit the formation of EPC blood vessels and shows promise as a potential treatment for neovascular AMD.
Article
Ophthalmology
Clement K. Chan, Wesley T. Beaulieu, Brandon J. Lujan, Maziar Lalezary, Daniella Lent-Schochet, Therlinder Lo, Glenn Yiu
Summary: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of prophylactic ranibizumab injections on drusen volume, macular thinning, and GA progression in eyes with intermediate AMD. The results showed that prophylactic ranibizumab did not appear to affect these parameters. Additionally, there was no difference in the conversion rate to neovascular AMD between the PR and sham injection groups.
TRANSLATIONAL VISION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Filippos Vingopoulos, Karen M. Wai, Raviv Katz, Demetrios G. Vavvas, Leo A. Kim, John B. Miller
Summary: Contrast sensitivity has better correlation with quality of life and subjective visual impairment in AMD patients, and may be affected earlier than visual acuity. However, limitations of current contrast testing methods have hindered their widespread adoption in clinical practice. The qCSF, utilizing active learning principles, shows promise as a sensitive, reliable endpoint for assessing visual function in AMD.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Sabrina L. Mitchell, Chunyu Ma, William K. Scott, Anita Agarwal, Margaret A. Pericak-Vance, Jonathan L. Haines, Dean P. Jones, Karan Uppal, Milam A. Brantley Jr
Summary: High resolution untargeted metabolomics was used to study plasma metabolite alterations in intermediate and neovascular age-related macular degeneration (IAMD and NVAMD). Numerous discriminatory metabolic features were identified, including acylcarnitines, phospholipids, amino acids, and steroid metabolites. Pathway analysis revealed lipid, amino acid, and vitamin metabolism pathways were altered in AMD, with the carnitine shuttle pathway significantly affected in all comparisons. Fewer differences were found between IAMD patients and controls, indicating that plasma metabolic profiles of IAMD patients are more similar to controls than to NVAMD patients.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alexander G. Marneros
Summary: Current anti-VEGF-A therapies can inhibit CNV in some patients with NV-AMD, but long-term treatment may impair the normal functions of the retina and choroid. Therefore, there is an urgent need for novel therapies that can specifically target the disease mechanisms without affecting the normal physiological functions. Inflammasome activation, which plays a role in pathologic angiogenesis, has become an area of interest in the field of AMD. However, the role of the inflammasome in AMD pathogenesis is still unclear, and more research is needed to understand its significance.
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Prem Patel, Veeral Sheth
Summary: AMD is a common cause of vision loss, with two main types, neovascular and non-neovascular, treated primarily through inhibition of VEGF. Discrepancies between clinical trial results and real-world outcomes exist, indicating the potential for new treatments to improve therapeutic efficacy.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Amrish Selvam, Sumit Randhir Singh, Supriya Arora, Manan Patel, Arnim Kuchhal, Stavan Shah, Joshua Ong, Mohammed Abdul Rasheed, Shanmukh Reddy Manne, Mohammed Nasar Ibrahim, Jose-Alain Sahel, Kiran Kumar Vupparaboina, Jay Chhablani
Summary: We conducted an automated analysis of pigment epithelial detachments (PEDs) in neovascular age related macular degeneration (nAMD) to estimate the areas of serous, neovascular, and fibrous tissues within the PEDs. By manually segmenting the PEDs and filtering the pixels using 2D kernels, we were able to classify them as serous, neovascular, or fibrous. Using specific PED composition indices, we calculated the relative areas of each tissue type within the PEDs. The accuracy of segmentation and classification was graded, and overall repeatability and reproducibility were high.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Reem H. ElSheikh, Muhammad Z. Chauhan, Ahmed B. Sallam
Summary: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of blindness in the elderly population, with neovascular AMD (nAMD) being the main contributor to visual loss. Currently approved anti-VEGF agents have shown favorable prognosis for nAMD but come with a substantial financial burden for patients and the healthcare system due to their high cost and the need for repeated treatments and visits. Emerging therapies aim to prolong treatment intervals and introduce new modalities for better results.
Article
Ophthalmology
Christopher Ryan Henry, Milan Shah, Mark R. Barakat, Pouya Dayani, Robert C. Wang, Rahul N. Khurana, Lana Rifkin, Steven Yeh, Colette Hall, Thomas Ciulla
Summary: The study evaluated the safety of suprachoroidal triamcinolone acetonide injections in patients with non-infectious uveitis. The treatment was found to be safe and well tolerated over the 24-week period.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ophthalmology
Rahul N. Khurana, Pauline Merrill, Steven Yeh, Eric Suhler, Mark R. Barakat, Eduardo Uchiyama, Christopher Ryan Henry, Milan Shah, Robert C. Wang, Barry Kapik, Thomas Ciulla
Summary: The suprachoroidal triamcinolone acetonide injectable suspension (CLS-TA) demonstrated extended efficacy and safety in patients with macular edema secondary to non-infectious uveitis, with approximately 50% of patients not requiring additional treatment for up to 9 months following the last administration. This treatment resulted in significant improvements in visual acuity and reduction in retinal central subfield thickness for those patients who did not require rescue therapy. No serious adverse events related to the study treatment were observed, indicating the safety of CLS-TA in this patient population.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ophthalmology
Pauline T. Merrill, Christopher R. Henry, Quan Dong Nguyen, Ashvini Reddy, Barry Kapik, Thomas A. Ciulla
Summary: This study investigates the efficacy and safety of suprachoroidal CLS-TA in patients with uveitic macular edema (UME) with or without concurrent systemic corticosteroid or steroid-sparing therapy (ST). The results demonstrate that CLS-TA provides clinically meaningful benefits in improving best-corrected visual acuity and central subfield thickness in UME patients, regardless of concurrent ST usage.
OCULAR IMMUNOLOGY AND INFLAMMATION
(2023)
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Aditya Belamkar, Alon Harris, Ryan Zukerman, Brent Siesky, Francesco Oddone, Alice Verticchio Vercellin, Thomas A. Ciulla
Summary: Glaucoma is a progressive optic neuropathy that leads to irreversible blindness. While it has traditionally been associated with elevated intraocular pressure (IOP), recent research suggests that it is a multifactorial optic neuropathy. Current treatment mainly involves lowering IOP using topical medications, but these regimens are often ineffective and result in disease progression. Therefore, sustained release (SR) drug delivery systems are being developed as alternatives, and various SR therapies are under investigation. These advancements in SR technology have the potential to significantly improve outcomes in glaucoma management.
ANNALS OF MEDICINE
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Janet Coleman-Belin, Alon Harris, Bo Chen, Jing Zhou, Thomas Ciulla, Alice Verticchio, Gal Antman, Michael Chang, Brent Siesky
Summary: Common risk factors for ocular pathologies involve age-related damage to the optic nerve. Understanding the mechanisms of age-related changes can help develop targeted treatments for eye diseases. This review focuses on age-related neurodegenerative changes in the optic nerve and their relationship with ocular pathophysiology.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Ophthalmology
Steven Yeh, Christopher R. Henry, Barry Kapik, Thomas A. Ciulla
Summary: The results of this study demonstrate the effectiveness and tolerability of SCS-TA in the treatment of macular edema secondary to noninfectious uveitis.
OPHTHALMOLOGY AND THERAPY
(2023)
Article
Ophthalmology
Thomas A. Ciulla, Barry Kapik, Allen Hu, Alon Harris, Michael S. Ip, Barbara Blodi
Summary: The study assessed the relationship between best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and anatomic features in patients with macular edema related to retinal vein occlusion (RVO). The results showed important clinically relevant relationships between BCVA and both OCT and FA anatomic features in RVO-ME patients.
OPHTHALMOLOGY RETINA
(2022)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Aumer Shughoury, Ashay Bhatwadekar, Denis Jusufbegovic, Amir Hajrasouliha, Thomas A. Ciulla
Summary: The therapeutic landscape of diabetic retinopathy (DR) is rapidly expanding, with new approaches such as anti-VEGF therapies, receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and gene therapy showing promise for the early and long-lasting treatment of this blinding eye disease. However, further research is needed to validate the efficacy of these novel therapeutics and evaluate real-world outcomes.
EXPERT OPINION ON BIOLOGICAL THERAPY
(2023)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Aumer Shughoury, Duriye D. Sevgi, Thomas A. Ciulla
Summary: Targeting the complement system is a promising therapeutic approach for slowing the progression of GA in AMD, potentially improving visual outcomes. However, increased risk of exudative conversion must be considered, and further research is required to identify clinical criteria and best practices for initiating complement inhibitor therapy for GA.
EXPERT OPINION ON PHARMACOTHERAPY
(2023)
Meeting Abstract
Ophthalmology
Quan Dong Nguyen, Barry Kapik, Thomas A. Ciulla
INVESTIGATIVE OPHTHALMOLOGY & VISUAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Meeting Abstract
Ophthalmology
Christopher R. Henry, Barry Kapik, Thomas A. Ciulla
INVESTIGATIVE OPHTHALMOLOGY & VISUAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Meeting Abstract
Ophthalmology
Viral Kansara, Leroy Muya, Cherry Wan, Shelley Hancock, Thomas A. Ciulla
INVESTIGATIVE OPHTHALMOLOGY & VISUAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Meeting Abstract
Ophthalmology
Megan E. Cavet, Shelley Hancock, Thomas A. Ciulla
INVESTIGATIVE OPHTHALMOLOGY & VISUAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Ophthalmology
Thomas Ciulla, Steven Yeh, Seenu M. Hariprasad
OPHTHALMIC SURGERY LASERS & IMAGING RETINA
(2022)
Article
Ophthalmology
Leroy Muya, Viral Kansara, Megan E. Cavet, Thomas Ciulla
Summary: This study compared the ocular pharmacokinetics, systemic absorption, and injectability of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) suprachoroidal (SC) and intravitreal (IVT) suspensions. Suprachoroidal delivery of TA enabled high and durable drug levels in the retina with limited anterior segment exposure. SC delivery of either TA suspension resulted in comparable ocular profiles with low systemic exposure, with the proprietary suspension requiring lower and less variable glide force for injection, indicating more consistent and controlled administration.
JOURNAL OF OCULAR PHARMACOLOGY AND THERAPEUTICS
(2022)
