One-year outcomes of fixed-dosing Aflibercept therapy for pre treated and naive polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy patient.

BACKGROUND: Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) is a type of age-related macular degeneration that can cause permanent vision loss. The purpose of this paper was to report the one-year outcomes of fixed-dosing aflibercept therapy for the treatment of PCV. METHODS: This was a prospective, single-arm, interventional case series study of 25 PCV patients; 12 pre-treated and 13 treatment-naïve patients. The patients were treated and monitored for 12 months. Each patient was administered with an aflibercept (2.0 mg) injection every month for the first 3 months (the loading phase), and thereafter, once every 2 months. At every follow-up visit, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) test, fundus examination, and optical coherence tomography for measuring the central subfield macular thickness (CSMT) were performed. Fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography were conducted at baseline and at 4 and 12 months. RESULTS: After 12 months of aflibercept therapy, the mean BCVA of the patients significantly improved from 65.48 letters at baseline to 69.91 letters (p=0.001), and the CSMT significantly decreased from 406.92 um at baseline to 276.12 um (p< 0.001). Additionally, ten patients (40%) showed complete polyp regression. The treatment-naïve patients showed a statistically significant improvement in BCVA from 66.58 letters at baseline to 76.36 letters at 12 months, and a significant decrease in CSMT, from 462 to 243 um. In the pre-treated group, there was no change in BCVA (64.46 letters), and the decrease in CSMT from 356.08 to 303.69 um was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: The fixed-dosing aflibercept regimen is effective for treating patients with PCV and is more effective in treatment-naïve patients than in pre-treated patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Research Information Service (CRiS), Republic of Korea. Identifer: KCT0005798, Registered: Jan 20, 2021. Retrospectively registered, URL: https://cris.nih.go.kr/cris/en/search/search_result_st01.jsp?seq=18546.

Novel Findings of Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy via Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography.

PURPOSE: To introduce novel findings of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) via optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). METHODS: This study is a retrospective chart review of 16 patients (16 eyes) with PCV. OCTA (Avanti RTVue XR) findings were evaluated and selected for analysis after agreement by two retina specialists . RESULTS: Twenty one polyps in 16 eyes (16 patients) with PCV were included in this study. The mean patient age was 67 years (13 men and three women). The shape of polypoidal lesions on OCTA at initial were halo (five polyps), rosette (seven polyps), and vascular network (nine polyps). Eight months after anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment, in a total of four eyes, seven polyps could be followed up completely, the two halo type polypoidal lesions changed to rosette and vascular network type. The lesions of three rosette and two vascular network type lesions did not change in shape. In addition, the size of the polypoidal lesions (one among two halo types, two among three rosette types, and two among two vascular network types) decreased, but one halo type did not change and one rosette type increased in size on OCTA. CONCLUSIONS: En-face OCTA enabled us to categorize novel types of PCV with polypoidal lesions.

SoEasy: A Software Framework for Easy Hardware Control Programming for Diverse IoT Platforms.

Many Internet of Things (IoT) applications are emerging and evolving rapidly thanks to widespread open-source hardware platforms. Most of the high-end open-source IoT platforms include built-in peripherals, such as the universal asynchronous receiver and transmitter (UART), pulse width modulation (PWM), general purpose input output (GPIO) ports and timers, and have enough computation power to run embedded operating systems such as Linux. However, each IoT platform has its own way of configuring peripherals, and it is difficult for programmers or users to configure the same peripheral on a different platform. Although diverse open-source IoT platforms are widespread, the difficulty in programming those platforms hinders the growth of IoT applications. Therefore, we propose an easy and convenient way to program and configure the operation of each peripheral using a user-friendly Web-based software framework. Through the implementation of the software framework and the real mobile robot application development along with it, we show the feasibility of the proposed software framework, named SoEasy.

Cytomegalovirus retinitis diagnosed after completion of chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia in an adolescent.

Although cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis is usually diagnosed in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation recipients among patients with hematologic and oncologic disease, it can also occur in acute leukemia patients who have not received hematopoietic cell transplantation. However, CMV retinitis diagnosed after completion of chemotherapy for acute leukemia has not previously been reported. A 17-year-old boy was diagnosed with CMV retinitis 3 months after completion of chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and his retinitis was assumed to be caused by a delayed immune reconstitution after chemotherapy. The patient was treated with intravenous and intravitreous ganciclovir therapy, and subsequently underwent surgery for retinal detachment.

Prevalence and risk factors for myopia in a rural Korean population.

PURPOSE: To assess the prevalence and risk factors of myopia in 19-year-old males in Jeju, a rural area of Korea. METHODS: A total of 2805 subjects were included. Refractive examination was performed with cycloplegia to test for myopia (< -0.5 diopters [D]) and high myopia (< -6.0 D). Possible associated factors were evaluated including height, weight, educational level, and color vision deficiency. RESULTS: The prevalence of myopia and high myopia were 83.3% and 6.8%, respectively, in 19-year-old males in Jeju. University students in their fourth to sixth years showed a higher risk for myopia (odds ratio [OR] 2.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.52-2.71, P < 0.001) than those with lower academic achievement. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of myopia was relatively high (83.3%) in a rural area of Korea, while the rate of high myopia was relatively low (6.8%) compared with that (20.6%) in an urban area of Korea.

Photodynamic therapy versus combination therapy in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy: changes of aqueous vascular endothelial growth factor.

PURPOSE: To investigate the influence of photodynamic therapy (PDT) and combination of PDT and ranibizumab on aqueous humor levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV). DESIGN: Prospective randomized clinical trial. METHOD: We included 20 eyes with treatment-naïve PCV and 20 eyes undergoing cataract surgery as controls. PCV eyes were randomized to treatment with PDT alone or to a combination of ranibizumab and PDT on the same day. During 3 months, retreatment was not performed. Aqueous humors were collected at baseline and at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after treatment in the PCV group and during cataract surgery in the control group. VEGF levels were measured using multiplex bead immunoassay. RESULTS: At baseline, VEGF levels were significantly increased in PCV eyes compared with control eyes. A significant decrease in VEGF levels was found at 1 week after PDT treatment (n = 8) and at all time points after combination treatment (n = 12). With combination treatment, VEGF levels were decreased to values below the detection limit in all eyes at 1 week and 1 month and in 7 of 12 eyes at 3 months. There was no difference in the clinical profiles among the 2 treatment groups at each time point. CONCLUSION: Decreased levels of VEGF detected 1 week after PDT for PCV seems to reflect acute damage of vascular endothelial cells, one of the VEGF expression sites in PCV. Concomitant ranibizumab resulted in a further decrease in VEGF to negligible levels, but this result did not affect the clinical results for 3 months.

Prevalence of myopia and its association with body stature and educational level in 19-year-old male conscripts in seoul, South Korea.

PURPOSE: To examine prevalence of refractive errors and its associated factors, such as body stature and educational level, among 19-year-old males in Seoul, Korea. METHODS: A population-based cross-sectional study was performed in male subjects (n = 23,616; age = 19 years) who were normally resident in Seoul for male compulsory conscripts during the study period (2010). Refractive examination was performed with cycloplegia. Height, weight, and educational level were examined. Myopia was defined as a spherical equivalent less than -0.5 diopters (D) and high myopia less than -6.0 D. The association of myopia with body stature and educational level was analyzed using logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The prevalence of myopia in 19-year-old males in Seoul was 96.5%. The prevalence of high myopia was 21.61%. Body stature was not significantly associated with myopia. Four- to 6-year university students (odds ratio [OR] 1.69; P < 0.001) and 2 to 3-year college students (OR 1.68; P < 0.001) showed significantly higher risk for myopia than those with lower academic achievement (< high school graduation). CONCLUSIONS: The 19-year-old male population in Seoul, Korea, demonstrated a very high myopic prevalence. Myopic refractive error was associated with academic achievement, not with body stature.

A case of epithelial inclusion cyst of iris.

To report on an epithelial inclusion cyst of the iris that was successfully treated with needle aspiration and Ab externo laser photocoagulation. A 6-year-old boy was treated for a 6.0 mm fluid-filled cyst in the anterior chamber of the right eye. Thirteen months previously, he had undergone primary closure of a 6 mm full-thickness corneal laceration. The subsequent cyst was diagnosed as an epithelial inclusion cyst of the iris. His vision decreased to finger-count at 30 cm as the cyst grew over the pupil. We performed needle aspiration of the cyst and Ab externo laser photocoagulation of the cyst wall. The treated lesion was completely removed. The patient's visual acuity recovered to 20/40 without complications. There was no recurrence as determined by slit lamp examination up to 6 months after treatment. Needle aspiration and Ab externo laser photocoagulation can be used to effectively treat epithelial inclusion cysts of the iris.