Taiwan Journal of Ophthalmology最新文献

Advances in technology have empowered patients to seek health information and to self-diagnose online. They do so, increasingly. Instead of shying away from patients' online-gained health information, clinicians can use it to fuel discussion, answer their questions, and, thereby, reinforce the all-important doctor-patient therapeutic alliance. Through patient-centered communication, clinicians can increase patient trust and generate better health outcomes.

Ophthalmology has been at the forefront of the medical application of big data. Often harnessed with a machine learning approach, big data has demonstrated potential to transform ophthalmic care, as evidenced by prior success on clinical tasks such as the screening of ophthalmic diseases and lesions via retinal images. With the recent establishment of various large ophthalmic datasets, there has been greater interest in determining whether the benefits of big data may extend to the downstream process of ophthalmic disease management. An area of substantial investigation has been the use of big data to help guide or streamline management of glaucoma, which remains a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. In this review, we summarize relevant studies utilizing big data and discuss the application of the findings in the risk assessment and treatment of glaucoma.

The anterior segment dysgeneses are a broad group of heterogeneous disorders characterized by developmental abnormalities of the anterior segment of the eye, including primary congenital aphakia, Peters sequence, aniridia, and Axenfeld-Rieger spectrum. These conditions can have overlapping phenotypes and both genotypic and phenotypic heterogeneity. This article provides a strategy for both phenotyping and then genotyping using a targeted stepwise approach.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to report the clinical characteristics of macular telangiectasia type 2 (MacTel 2) in Taiwan.

Materials and methods: Retrospective analysis of patients diagnosed with MacTel 2 over a 7-year period in Changhua Christian Hospital. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), fundus photography, fluorescein angiography, optical coherence tomography (OCT), and OCT angiography (OCTA) images were reviewed. Differences in BCVA and central macular thickness (CMT) were compared between the initial/baseline and final visits. The staging was performed according to the Gass and Blodi classification and OCTA.

Results: There were 38 eyes in 19 patients were collected (Male: Female = 5:14). The mean age at diagnosis was 65.90 ± 8.26 years and the follow-up duration was 39.26 ± 28.31 months. All patients had both eyes affected, and eight of the 19 patients had a history of diabetes mellitus (DM). The mean initial logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) BCVA was 0.40 ± 0.31 and the mean final logMAR BCVA was 0.61 ± 0.53. Difference of BCVA equal or more than two lines between both eyes was noted in 63.1% (12 of 19) of patients at the initial visit and in 78.9% (15 of 19) of patients at the final follow-up. The mean CMT was 224.42 ± 38.50 μm at baseline and 222.05 ± 40.27 μm at the final visit. OCT illustrated macular hole in three eyes of three patients. At the final follow-up, retinal-choroidal anastomosis was noted in 17 eyes. Subretinal neovascularization (SRNV) was not present in any eye.

Conclusion: Bilateral involvement, asymmetrical BCVA in both eyes, low incidence of SRNV, and high prevalence of DM were characteristics of patients of MacTel 2 in Taiwan.

Upper eyelid retraction (UER) is the most common sign of thyroid eye disease (TED) and may result in lagophthalmos and exposure keratopathy. Measures to address UER are varied and include conservative treatment, surgical intervention, and injections of botulinum toxin, hyaluronic acid (HA) filler, and triamcinolone acetonide (TA). Our article will discuss the various nonsurgical aspects of managing TED-related UER, focusing on the injections of botulinum toxin, HA filler, and TA to the upper eyelid, which have all been reported to be effective in improving UER in both active and inactive states of TED. Individual response may vary, and repeated injections may be necessary.

Purpose: To compare the effect of intravitreal ranibizumab (IVR) or intravitreal dexamethasone implants (IVD) on the regression of hyperreflective dots (HRDs) in patients with branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO).

Materials and methods: Thirty-seven eyes with cystoid macular edema who received IVR or IVD and followed up for at least 12 months were included in this study. The patients were divided into three Groups according to intravitreal treatments. Group 1 consisted of 12 eyes who received only IVD, Group 2 consisted of 10 eyes who received only IVR, and Group 3 consisted of 15 eyes who received both IVD and IVR. The number of HRDs and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) were compared between the Groups through the follow-up time.

Results: The mean number of HRDs in inner and outer retinal layers was significantly decreased in Group 1 and Group 3 (For Group 1; P < 0.001, P = 0.001, for Group 3; P < 0.001, P < 0.001). At the 1^st year, the number of HRDs in inner and outer retinal layers was significantly lower in Group 1 and Group 3 than Group 2 (All P < 0.05). The BCVA was higher in Group 3 than Group 2 at 1^st year (P = 0.048).

Conclusion: The HRDs should be considered inflammatory markers in the follow-up of CME in BRVO.

Purpose: To measure the pupillary dynamics and accommodative response in individuals with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) as compared to age-matched controls.

Materials and methods: This prospective comparative study was carried out at the neuro-optometry clinic of a tertiary eye care hospital. Sixty-three subjects with a history of mTBI and ninety age-matched controls were enrolled in this study. Subjects in the age range of 18-35 years were included in the study. A comprehensive neuro-optometric assessment was performed followed by pupillary dynamics and accommodation response measurements using NeurOptics® pupillary light reflex™-3000 and Grand-Seiko WAM-5500 binocular accommodation auto ref/keratometer | shigiya machinery works LTD.

Results: A statistically significant difference was noticed for constriction percentage (%): 32.73 ± 9.20 versus 39.93 ± 7.36 (P < 0.001), average constriction velocity (mm/s): 2.24 ± 0.85 versus 2.62 ± 0.68 (P = 0.002), maximum constriction velocity (mm/s): 3.82 ± 1.33 versus 4.42 ± 0.93 (P = 0.004) and T75 (recovery period to 75% of the baseline pupillary diameter in sec): 1.38 ± 0.36 versus 2.0 ± 0.82 (P < 0.001) in mTBI compared to age-matched controls. A statistically significant difference was noted for accommodative response (in D) as well as in the sample as compared to age-matched controls: -1.12 ± 0.64 versus - 1.39 ± 0.47 (P < 0.001).

Conclusion: Pupillary constriction velocities and accommodative response are significantly affected in mTBI. These findings have important clinical implications in being able to understand the visual symptoms following an mTBI.

Myopia as an uncorrected visual impairment is recognized as a global public health issue with an increasing burden on health-care systems. Moreover, high myopia increases one's risk of developing pathologic myopia, which can lead to irreversible visual impairment. Thus, increased resources are needed for the early identification of complications, timely intervention to prevent myopia progression, and treatment of complications. Emerging artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies may have the potential to tackle these unmet needs through automated detection for screening and risk stratification, individualized prediction, and prognostication of myopia progression. AI applications in myopia for children and adults have been developed for the detection, diagnosis, and prediction of progression. Novel AI technologies, including multimodal AI, explainable AI, federated learning, automated machine learning, and blockchain, may further improve prediction performance, safety, accessibility, and also circumvent concerns of explainability. Digital technology advancements include digital therapeutics, self-monitoring devices, virtual reality or augmented reality technology, and wearable devices - which provide possible avenues for monitoring myopia progression and control. However, there are challenges in the implementation of these technologies, which include requirements for specific infrastructure and resources, demonstrating clinically acceptable performance and safety of data management. Nonetheless, this remains an evolving field with the potential to address the growing global burden of myopia.

Purpose: This study used contrast sensitivity (CS) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) to assess the functional and structural alterations of the macula and the optic nerve head (ONH) in diabetic patients with no retinopathy and those with mild nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR).

Materials and methods: In this study, 40 eyes of 20 diabetic patients with no diabetic retinopathy (DR), 40 eyes of 20 diabetic patients with mild NPDR, and 36 eyes of 18 healthy individuals were examined. Best-corrected visual acuity (VA) and CS were performed using early treatment DR study charts and the Pelli-Robson chart, respectively. The macula and ONH were evaluated using OCT, which provided data on the entire retina, inner retinal layer, outer retinal layer, retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), and the macula zone-ellipsoid zone-retinal pigment epithelium layer.

Results: VA and CS were significantly different between the three groups (P < 0.001). The entire thickness of the retina and the internal thickness of the retina in the 3-6 mm subfields of the macular region, as well as the thickness of the ganglion cell layer + inner plexiform layer (GCL + IPL) and GCL + IPL + RNFLs, differed significantly across the groups (P < 0.013).

Conclusion: In diabetic subjects with no retinopathy, the reduced thickness of the GCL + IPLs is possibly indicative of early neurodegenerative changes in the inner retina. Furthermore, in the diabetic groups, a decrease in CS was observed compared to the control group.