Distribution and Progression of Inflammatory Chorioretinal Lesions Related to Multifocal Choroiditis and Their Correlations with Clinical Outcomes at 24 Months.

PURPOSE: To analyze distribution and progression of multifocal choroiditis (MFC) inflammatory lesions and their correlations with clinical outcomes at 24 months. METHODS: Distribution and progression of inflammatory lesions were evaluated in eyes with MFC using a semi-automatic approach based on fundus autofluorescence. Twenty-four-months clinical outcomes were correlated with baseline features. RESULTS: Twenty-five eyes from 20 patients were enrolled. Visual acuity (VA) significantly improved from baseline to 24 months. Chorioretinal lesions spared the fovea in most eyes. The area of inflammatory lesions at 24 months significantly increased. Final number and area of lesions were significantly influenced by baseline features. Inflammatory lesions enlarged over time regardless of MFC recurrences. New lesion and MFC relapses did not affect final outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Final VA correlated with baseline VA. Scars resulting from MFC lesions enlarged overtime even when the disease was under control. New lesions and MFC relapses did not affect final outcomes.

Placoid lesions of the retina: progress in multimodal imaging and clinical perspective.

Placoid lesions of the retina may be secondary to a wide spectrum of acquired inflammatory conditions that have been reported as single entities with different presentation and clinical course. These conditions include acute posterior multifocal placoid pigment epitheliopathy, persistent placoid maculopathy, serpiginous choroiditis, serpiginous-like choroiditis, relentless placoid chorioretinitis and acute syphilitic posterior placoid chorioretinitis. In this article, we will group these conditions under the name of 'placoids'. The recognition of the specific condition may be challenging in clinical practice, often resulting in diagnostic and therapeutic delay. Given the complex nature of placoids and their similarities, a systematic approach including differentiating between infectious and non-infectious aetiologies increases the chance of reaching the correct diagnosis. Detailed history and comprehensive clinical examination are the first steps to formulate a diagnostic hypothesis that should be corroborated by multimodal imaging and appropriate investigations. The advent of multimodal imaging has made it possible to extensively study placoids and revealed a constellation of specific findings that may help clinicians in the diagnostic process. The treatment of the conditions other than syphilis is complex and sometimes challenging. Our article is aimed at giving an overview of the individual entities associated with placoids and discussing the differential diagnosis. A practical and systematic approach is then proposed.

Role of optical coherence tomography angiography in Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease.

Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease (VKH) is an autoimmune severe multisystem condition characterized by both ocular and systemic findings that should be promptly recognized and treated. Although invasive imaging modalities, namely fluorescein angiography and indocyanine green angiography, are still the gold standard for the diagnosis and follow-up of the ocular findings in VKH, the role of retinal non-invasive imaging including optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) is under investigation and is not mentioned in the current diagnostic criteria of VKH. The aim of this manuscript was to report the clinical course and the multimodal retinal imaging of a VKH case and to discuss the role of OCTA in this condition. Our case supports the evidence that OCTA is able to help determine disease activity and progression in VKH. We therefore contend that OCTA should be considered for future developing diagnostic criteria of this condition.

Spontaneous resolution of acute syphilitic posterior placoid chorioretinitis: reappraisal of the literature and pathogenetic insights.

Acute syphilitic posterior placoid chorioretinitis (ASPPC) is a rare clinical manifestation of ocular syphilis. Spontaneous resolution of this condition has been reported in a few cases. The aim of this manuscript is to report an additional case and to discuss the possible pathogenesis of this condition by reviewing the current evidence on this subject. A 45-year-old man presented to us with decreased vision in the right eye secondary to a placoid macular lesion. Fourteen days after presentation, there was a dramatic improvement of the vision, and multimodal retinal imaging showed almost complete spontaneous resolution of the placoid lesion. Syphilis serology turned out positive and a diagnosis of ASPPC was made. The pathogenesis of ASPPC is unclear, and there is contrasting evidence about the role of the cellular immune system. Since this condition may resolve spontaneously before systemic antimicrobial treatment, the presence of a placoid macular lesion should raise a high suspicion of ASPPC in order to make a timely diagnosis and to avoid progression of untreated syphilis.

Intravitreal Dexamethasone Implant as a Sustained Release Drug Delivery Device for the Treatment of Ocular Diseases: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature.

Drug delivery into the vitreous chamber remains a great challenge in the pharmaceutical industry due to the complex anatomy and physiology of the eye. Intravitreal injection is the mainstream route of drug administration to the posterior segment of the eye. The purpose of this review is to assess the current literature about the widening use of the intravitreal 0.7 mg dexamethasone (Dex) implant, and to provide a comprehensive collection of all the ocular disorders that benefit from Dex administration. Although anti-vascular endothelial growth-factors (VEGFs) have been largely indicated as a first-choice level, the Dex implant represents an important treatment option, especially in selected cases, such as vitrectomized eyes or patients in whom anti-VEGF failed or are contraindicated. In this article, the safety profile as well as the list of the possible complications related to intravitreal Dex injection are also discussed.

Twenty-four-month outcomes of inflammatory choroidal neovascularisation treated with intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factors: a comparison between two treatment regimens.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: There is still no established treatment regimen for eyes with inflammatory choroidal neovascularisation (iCNV) treated with intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections. This study compared the 24-month outcomes of two treatment regimens of anti-VEGF injections in eyes with iCNV. METHODS: Eyes with iCNV treated with anti-VEGF injections were divided into two groups: eyes treated with a loading phase of 3 monthly injections and then re-treated as needed (LOADING group) and eyes treated as needed from the beginning (PRN group). Visual acuity (VA), number of injections and iCNV recurrences at 24 months were compared between the groups. RESULTS: Eighty-two eyes were included, 42 in the LOADING and 40 in the PRN group. Baseline VA (mean(SD)) was 57.3 (15.8) letters in the LOADING vs 60.7 (15.6) letters in the PRN group (p=0.32). The VA (mean (95% CI)) increased at 3 months (+14.8 (10.6 to 18.9) and +11.2 (6.4 to 16) letters in the LOADING and PRN group, respectively) and remained significantly higher than baseline over the entire follow-up in both groups (all p<0.001). At 24 months, there was no difference in VA between the LOADING and PRN group (72.3 (14.0) vs 74.7 (11.3) letters, p=0.36) but the LOADING group received significantly more injections (median (Q1-Q3)) than the PRN (4.5 (3-7) vs 2.5 (2-3.2), p<0.0001). The iCNV recurrences were similar in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: iCNV responded well to anti-VEGF with significant and sustained VA improvement. The loading phase did not confer any advantage in terms of outcomes. PRN regimen from the beginning was as effective as more intensive treatment.

Choroidal Structural Changes Correlate With Neovascular Activity in Neovascular Age Related Macular Degeneration.

Purpose: To correlate changes in choroidal thickness and vascularity index with disease activity in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). Methods: Eyes diagnosed with AMD that had two sequential visits within 12 months and that had no choroidal neovascularization (CNV) or had inactive CNV at the first visit were included. Those that had active CNV at follow-up were enrolled as cases. Eyes that did not developed a CNV or that were still inactive at the second visit were enrolled as controls. Disease activity was based on optical coherence tomography (OCT) and fluorescein angiography findings. Subfoveal choroidal thickness (SCT), mean choroidal thickness (MCT), and choroidal vascularity index (CVI) were assessed on enhanced depth imaging OCT and compared between the baseline and follow-up visit. Subgroup analysis accounting for lesion type and previous treatment, if any, were performed. Results: Sixty-five eyes from 60 patients (35 females) and 50 age- and sex-matched controls were included. At the active visit, cases had an increase from 164 ± 67 µm to 175 ± 70 µm in mean ± SD SCT and from 144 ± 45 µm to 152 ± 45 µm in MCT (both P < 0.0001). The mean CVI also increased at from 54.5% ± 3.3% to 55.4% ± 3.8% (P = 0.04). Controls did not show significant changes in choroidal measurements between the two visits. Mean SCT, MCT, and CVI values were similar for previously treated and treatment-naive eyes. Conclusions: Choroidal thickness and CVI significantly increased with active disease in nAMD eyes. Changes in choroidal thickness may predict CNV development or recurrence before they are otherwise evident clinically.

Reproducibility of Vessel Density, Fractal Dimension, and Foveal Avascular Zone Using 7 Different Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Devices.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the reproducibility of parafoveal microvascular anatomy of 7 different optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) devices by comparing vessel density (VD), fractal dimension (FD), and foveal avascular zone (FAZ) of superficial and deep capillary plexus in healthy volunteers. DESIGN: Reliability analysis. METHODS: Consecutive healthy volunteers presenting at the Eye Clinic, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Luigi Sacco Hospital, University of Milan in the same clinic visit were imaged by 7 different OCT-A devices: Optovue RTVue XR Avanti (Optovue, Inc, Fremont, California, USA), prototype Spectralis OCT-A (Spectralis; Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany), AngioPlex (Cirrus 5000 HD-OCT; Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc, Dublin, California, USA), prototype PlexElite (Carl Zeiss Meditec), RS-3000 Advance (Nidek, Gamagori, Japan), OCT-HS100 (Canon, Tokyo, Japan), and Revo NX (Optopol Technology SA, Zawiercie, Poland). OCT-A examinations were performed using a 3 × 3 mm volume scan pattern centered on the fovea. Mean VD, FD, and FAZ values between the instruments were compared. RESULTS: The 7 different devices presented measurements with different mean values, with only a limited number of comparisons not significantly different between the instruments. Moreover, Bland-Altman analysis revealed that the limits of agreement for all the comparisons were not acceptable. Regression analysis was used in the development of tables to compare various devices, despite which large standard errors were found for both intercepts and slope conversion values. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the comparison between instruments is nearly impossible and the set of measurements from the various instruments are not interchangeable regarding VD, FD, and FAZ for both the superficial and deep capillary plexus.

Normative Data for Retinal-Layer Thickness Maps Generated by Spectral-Domain OCT in a White Population.

PURPOSE: (1) To collect a dataset of normative Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) thickness map values for single retinal layers automatically segmented by Spectralis (Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany) spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT) in a healthy white population. (2) To test the effect of age, sex, and axial length (AXL) on such values. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SUBJECTS: Healthy adult emmetropic white subjects with no history of ongoing or past conditions known to affect retinal anatomy. METHODS: SD-OCT scans (30 × 25-degree volume) centered on the fovea were collected. Retinal-layer automatic segmentation was performed. Mean thickness values of 9 ETDRS sectors were calculated for each layer in 1 eye from each subject. The effect of age, sex, and AXL on the thickness of the central subfield, inner ring (IR), and outer ring (OR) of the ETDRS grid was tested. Scans were performed twice on a subset of patients to assess the repeatability of measurements. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Retinal-layer thickness. RESULTS: Two hundred eyes from 200 subjects (110 females, mean age 39.9±13.9 years [range 20-74 years]) were used for this study. The mean AXL was 24.30±1.07 mm (range 22.23-27.14 mm). Full retinal thickness was higher in males regardless of the subfield (all P < 0.05). Ganglion cell layer thickness correlated positively with AXL in the C (P = 0.02) but negatively in the OR (P = 0.0001). The inner plexiform layer was thicker in males in the IR (P = 0.01) and thinner in longer eyes in the OR (P = 0.002). The inner nuclear layer was thicker in males in the C and the IR (P = 0.002 and P = 0.0009, respectively). The outer plexiform layer thickness did not change with age and gender but correlated positively with AXL in the C (P = 0.009). Males had thicker outer nuclear layers in all subfields (all P < 0.05). The thickness of the nerve fiber layer and retinal pigment epithelium was not affected by the studied variables in any subfield. The intraclass correlation coefficient ranged from 0.872 for the outer plexiform layer to 0.990 for the retinal nerve fiber layer and the ganglion cell layer. CONCLUSIONS: The thickness values of each retinal layer in a large white population are provided. The thickness of retinal layers is influenced by gender, sex, and AXL, with a variable extent depending on the analyzed ETDRS map ring.