Effect of Intraoperative Mitomycin C on the Surgical Outcomes of Ahmed Glaucoma Valve Implantation with Ciliary Sulcus Tube Placement

Purpose@#To evaluate the effect of intraoperative mitomycin C (MMC) on the surgical outcomes of ciliary sulcus (CS) Ahmed glaucoma valve (AGV) tube placement. @*Methods@#A retrospective review of medical records of 54 consecutive patients who underwent AGV implantation with tube placed in CS was performed. Consecutive cases operated without the use of intraoperative MMC from 2017 to 2019 were compared with consecutive cases operated with MMC from 2019 to 2021. Surgical failure was defined as intraocular pressure (IOP) exceeding 21 mmHg in two consecutive visits after postoperative 3 months or ≤30% IOP reduction, IOP ≤5 mmHg in two consecutive visits, or loss of light perception. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and log-rank test were performed to compare the surgical failure rates. @*Results@#A total of 54 eyes of 54 patients were investigated. Mean follow-up period after AGV implantation was 1.4 ± 0.8 years. The MMC group showed significantly lower IOP during the 1st postoperative month (20.5 ± 8.6 mmHg vs. 15.8 ± 6.4 mmHg, p = 0.027), but the difference did not persist 6 months after the surgery (p = 0.805). The mean number of postoperative antiglaucoma medications was significantly lower in the MMC group in the 1st postoperative month (p = 0.047) but no difference was found at 6 months. No statistical difference was noted in the rates of postoperative complications. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed comparable survival rates between MMC group and no MMC group (p = 0.356). @*Conclusions@#The intraoperative use of MMC significantly lowered IOP in the 1st postoperative month but did not increase 6 months success rates in patients receiving AGV tube placement in CS.

Retrospective Analysis of the Efficacy and Safety of Omidenepag Isopropyl 0.002% Ophthalmic Solution in Korean Patients

Purpose@#This study aimed to analyze the clinical efficacy and safety of omidenepag isopropyl (OMDI) 0.002% in Korean patients. @*Methods@#A retrospective study was conducted involving 306 patients diagnosed with glaucoma or ocular hypertension, who were administered OMDI 0.002% from May 2021 to June 2022. The primary outcomes were the change in intraocular pressure (IOP) at months 1, 3, and 6 compared to the baseline IOP, and the reactions to the OMDI drug. @*Results@#Out of 235 patients who met the study inclusion criteria, the mean IOP was 16.5 ± 3.4 mmHg at baseline, 14.5 ± 3.0 mmHg at month 1, 14.3 ± 2.7 mmHg at month 3, and 14.7 ± 3.1 mmHg at month 6. The mean IOP reduction at month 6 was -1.6 ± 2.8 mmHg (p < 0.001). On analyzing the IOP by types of glaucoma, the mean IOP change at the 6-month point showed statistically significant results in all types, including normal tension glaucoma, primary open-angle glaucoma, and ocular hypertension (p < 0.05). The frequency of side effects in all patients was 29.8%, with the most commonly reported adverse drug reaction being hyperemia in 18.7% of the total patients. There was one case (0.4%) of uveitis after OMDI administration, but no other systemic adverse drug reactions were reported. @*Conclusions@#Omidenepag isopropyl demonstrated a statistically significant IOP-lowering effect in Korean patients with various types of glaucoma. This suggests that OMDI could potentially serve as a first-line treatment for glaucoma.

Influence of Long-term Oral Steroid Intake on Glaucoma and Ocular Hypertension

Purpose@#The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk factors associated with glaucoma or ocular hypertension (OHT) in patients taking oral corticosteroids for extended periods, and to aid in managing intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with these risk factors. @*Methods@#A cross-sectional study was performed involving 690 patients who visited a tertiary referral hospital and had been using oral corticosteroids for more than six months. Patients' demographics, tonometry results, drug type, dosage, duration, ophthalmic history, and the use of glaucoma eye drops were analyzed to determine the risk factors associated with glaucoma or OHT. @*Results@#In a generalized linear model analysis comparing patients' eyes diagnosed with glaucoma or ocular hypertension to those without such diagnoses, no statistical difference was observed between the two groups in terms of drug type, age, and duration of oral corticosteroid use. However, the dosage was found to be statistically significant (odds ratio 1.09, p = 0.0294). @*Conclusions@#No difference in the incidence of glaucoma or OHT was found based on the type of oral steroid, age, or duration of use. However, a higher incidence of glaucoma and OHT was observed among patients taking higher doses of oral steroids. Therefore, it is suggested that using lower doses of oral steroids may be more beneficial for managing IOP.

A Prototype of a Stereoacuity Test Using a Head-Mounted Display

Purpose@#To evaluate the test-retest reliability of a contour-based stereoacuity test using a head-mounted display (HMD) and compare it with other stereotests. @*Methods@#Thirty-two healthy adults aged 23-47 years were recruited from a tertiary hospital between August 2017 and July 2018. Two separate contour-based circles (crossed disparity: 135-1,350 arcsecs) were generated on a high-resolution phone display (Galaxy S7; Samsung, Seoul, Korea) using an HMD (Galaxy Gear VR). Two images were independently projected to each eye as graded circles with a random dot background. The results of the new HMD stereotest were compared to those of the standard Randot and TNO stereotests. The test-retest reliability was assessed using the Bland-Altman plot and Cohen’s kappa statistics. @*Results@#Among the 32 study participants, 17 (53%) were males and the mean age was 30.1 ± 4.8 years (range: 23-47). The mean stereoacuity was 160.3 ± 53.5 arcsecs in the first HMD stereotest (HMD1), 28.4 ± 12.5 arcsecs in the Randot stereotest, 96.1 ± 83.5 arcsecs in the TNO stereotest, and 143.3 ± 47.7 arcsecs in the second HMD stereotest (HMD2). The Bland-Altman plot showed a mean difference of 0.042 (-0.189 to +0.272, 95% limits of agreement) between HMD1 and HMD2. The reliability analysis showed an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.499 (p = 0.022) and agreement of 81.25% in Cohen’s kappa statistics (Cohen’s kappa index = 0.119, p = 0.017). @*Conclusions@#The HMD stereotest without monocular cues showed fair test-retest reliability and reproducibility. Further studies using a high resolution display are needed to confirm the validity of the HMD stereotest.

The Effect of TNF-α Blocker HL036337 and Its Best Concentration to Inhibit Dry Eye Inflammation

PURPOSE: Dry eye syndrome is commonly thought of as an inflammatory disease, and we have previously presented data showing the effectiveness of topical TNF-α blocker agents for the treatment of this condition. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the TNF-α blocking agent HL036337 compared to cyclosporine A for the treatment of dry eye induced inflammation in order to establish whether HL036337 represents a more effective method for suppressing inflammation. The efficacy of HL036337 and cyclosporine A was determined using an experimental murine dry eye model. METHODS: The TNF-α blocker HL036337 is a modified form of TNF receptor I. Using dry eye induced C57BL/6 mice (n = 45), corneal erosion was measured at day 4 and 7 after topical treatment with cyclosporine A or HL036337. To determine the effective treatment dose, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2.5, and 5 mg/mL of HL036337 were topically administered twice per day to dry eye induced murine corneas for 1 week. RESULTS: The optimal concentration of the TNF-α blocker HL036337 for treatment of dry eye induced corneal erosion was determined to be 1 mg/mL. Dry eye induced corneal erosion was improved after 1 week with topically applied cyclosporine A and HL036337 at 1 mg/mL. CONCLUSIONS: HL036337 administered topically at 1 mg/mL effectively improved corneal erosion induced by dry eye. This finding may also suggest that inhibition of TNF-α can improve dry eye syndrome.

Appendicular Skeletal Muscle Mass and Insulin Resistance in an Elderly Korean Population: The Korean Social Life, Health and Aging Project-Health Examination Cohort

BACKGROUND: Increasing evidence supports an association between age-related loss of muscle mass and insulin resistance. However, the association has not been fully investigated in the general population. Thus, we investigated the association between appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) and insulin resistance in an elderly Korean population. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 158 men (mean age, 71.8) and 241 women (mean age, 70.6) from the Korean Social Life, Health and Aging Project, which started in 2011. In this study, ASM was measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis and was analyzed in three forms: ASM (kg), ASM/height2 (kg/m2), and ASM/weight (%). The homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was used as a measure of insulin resistance. The relationships between the ASM values and the HOMA-IR were investigated by multiple linear regression models. RESULTS: The HOMA-IR was positively associated with ASM (beta=0.43, P<0.0001) and ASM/height2 (beta=0.36, P<0.0001) when adjusted for sex and age. However, after additional adjustment for body weight, HOMA-IR was inversely associated with ASM (beta=-0.43, P<0.001) and ASM/height2 (beta=-0.30, P=0.001). Adjustment for other potential confounders did not change these associations. Conversely, HOMA-IR was consistently and inversely associated with ASM/weight before and after adjustment for other potential confounders. CONCLUSION: Our results support the idea that lower skeletal muscle mass is independently associated with insulin resistance in older adults. When evaluating sarcopenia or muscle-related conditions in older adults, their whole body sizes also need to be considered.

The Korean Social Life, Health and Aging Project-Health Examination Cohort / 한국역학회지

The Korean Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (KSHAP) is a population-based longitudinal study of health determinants among elderly Koreans. The target population of the KSHAP are people aged 60 years or older and their spouses living in a rural community of Korea. A complete enumeration survey was conducted in the first wave of the KSHAP on 94.7% (814 of 860) of the target population between December 2011 and July 2012. The KSHAP-Health Examination (KSHAP-HE) cohort consists of 698 people who completed additional health examinations at a public health center (n=533) or at their home (n=165). Face-to-face questionnaires were used to interview participants on their demographics, social network characteristics, medical history, health behaviors, cognitive function, and depression symptoms. Health center examinations included anthropometric measures, body impedance analysis, resting blood pressure measurement, radial artery tonometry, bone densitometry, the timed up-and-go test, and fasting blood analysis. However, only anthropometric measures, blood pressure measurement, and non-fasting blood analysis were available for home health examinations. Collaboration is encouraged and access to the KSHAP baseline data will be available via the website of the Korean Social Science Data Archive (http://www.kossda.or.kr).