Being one of the most important sensory organs, the eye is composed of the cornea, the lens, which are responsible for refraction, and the retina, which is the neural sensory part of the eye. Various kinds of developmental abnormalities and functional defects could lead to visual dysfunctions, and even blindness. Current treatments for blindness-causing eye diseases all have their own limitations, awaiting new efficient diagnostic and treating methods. Thanks to the development in stem cell biology and bioengineering, taking advantage of the rich knowledge accumulated on the mechanisms governing eye development, researchers have successfully generated various ocular organoids using multiple sources of stem cells in vitro, which resemble their counterparts in vivo on both the structural level and functional level. Ocular organoids provide valuable material and models for studying eye development, pathology, drug screening, and cell replacement therapy, pushing translational studies of ocular stem cell to a new era. Here, the paper reviews the development and application of ocular organoid technologies.
Background: Bacillary layer detachment (BALAD) is a phenomenon characterized by fluid accumulation at the myoid region of the inner photoreceptor segments identifiable on optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging. This finding has been recently described in patients with diverse primary diagnoses which share the common feature of serous exudation in the posterior pole. However, thus far there have been very few reports in the literature of BALAD in patients with posterior scleritis.
Case Description: A 16-year-old male presented with unilateral vision changes that acutely worsened overnight to significant unilateral vision loss. He was eventually diagnosed with idiopathic posterior scleritis with associated BALAD on OCT. Similar to other reported cases of BALAD, he experienced anatomic restoration of the outer retina followed by good visual recovery after treatment with high dose steroid, ultimately with complete recovery of both retinal anatomy and vision within 4 months.
Conclusions: This case provides further evidence that posterior scleritis can be a cause of BALAD. The rapid presentation and excellent visual and anatomical outcome of this case is entirely consistent with known descriptions of BALAD in a variety of other conditions, further supporting the categorization of BALAD as an entity which retinal specialists should be able to recognize as distinct from other forms of intraretinal fluid, retinal detachment, and retinoschisis.
Background: The complexity of the glaucoma pathophysiology is directly reflected on its experimental modeling for studies about pathological mechanisms and treatment approaches. Currently, a variety of in vivo models are available for the study of glaucoma, although they do not reach an exact reproduction of all aspects characterizing the human glaucoma. Therefore, a comprehensive view of disease onset, progression and treatment efficacy can only be obtained by the integration of outcomes deriving from different experimental models.
Methods: The present article summary experimental procedures and analytical methodologies related with two experimental models of glaucoma belonging to the classes of induced intraocular pressure (IOP)-elevation and genetic models, methyl cellulose (MCE)-induced ocular hypertension and DBA/2J mouse strain. Point-by-point protocols are reported with a particular focus on the critical point for the realization of each model. Moreover, typical strength and drawbacks of each model are described in order to critically handle the outcomes deriving from each model.
Discussion: This paper provides a guideline for the realization, analysis and expected outcomes of two models allowing to study IOP-driven neurodegenerative mechanisms rather than IOP-independent neurodegeneration. The complementary information from these models could enhance the analysis of glaucomatous phenomena from different points of view potentiating the basic and translational study of glaucoma.
Herpes simplex virus stromal keratitis is one of the leading causes of corneal blindness. A topical corticosteroidagent in conjunction with an oral antiviral agent is the preferred treatment, which has the disadvantages of low bioavailability and drug side effects. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find alternative drugs and develop new dosage forms. Immunosuppressants such as cyclosporine A and tacrolimus have obvious curative effects and few side effects, and may be potential substitutes for glucocorticoids. Interferon-α combined with acyclovir can shorten the course of disease, but the effect is not obvious when used alone. Matrix regenerating agents have new antiviral mechanisms and deserve further study. In addition, nanocarriers delivery systems, such as liposomes, nanomicelles and cubosomes, have great potential in the treatment of herpes simplex virus stromal keratitis due to their ability to enhance drug corneal penetration and prolong drug release.
The diabetic retinopathy which often occurs in patients with advanced diabetes mellitus (DM) can usually be realized, but diabetic keratopathy (DK) could sometimes be ignored. In recent years, many studies have found out that DK can cause significant abnormal changes in many ways, including structure, metabolism and physiological functions of the cornea. At present, there is no effective therapy to cure DK. The current mainstream therapy mostly focuses on symptomatic treatment to maintain a smooth and moist ocular surface, minimize visual loss and improve comfort, such as local drip of artificial tears, use of corneal bandage lens and local use of anti-inflammatory drugs. However, these existing treatment methods have limited repair ability for corneal tissue damage. In recent years, a number of new treatment methods have emerged, which are expected to be clinically used in the future, such as nerve growth factors and insulin therapy.
Lateral canthus mass with eyelid deformity and conjunctival mass is rare in children. The eyelid reduction should be handled flexibly while the mass is removed. Two cases of congenital lateral canthus with eyelid coloboma were reviewed in Beijing Children’s Hospital. Postoperative pathology showed fibroepithelial polyp and conjunctival dermolipoma. The eyelid masses of the child were completely excised, and the appearance was satisfactory after eyelid reduction.
Abstract Present patient clothing for infants and children with ophthalmic surgery have several limitations, which is inconvenient to wear, hard to keep warm and difficult in preventing patients from scratching eyes underwent surgery. A modified patient clothing for infants and children is designed to overcome these existing problems.
Abstract Background: Previous studies have proposed an automated customized program named MATLAB used in the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) measurements in Triton optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) images. But it is not open-source and not easy to obtain, which will largely restrict its application in clinical practice and medical research. In this study, we aimed to investigate the feasibility of the Smooth Level Sets macro (SLSM), a free and open-source program, and compared with the manual measurements and MATLAB in the FAZ quantification in Triton OCTA. Methods: Thirty-five eyes of 35 healthy subjects were scanned four times continuously using Triton OCTA. Manual and automated methods including the SLSM and MATLAB were used in the FAZ metrics (area, perimeter, and circularity) of the superficial capillary plexus. The accuracy, repeatability of all methods, and agreement between automated and manual methods were analyzed. Results: The SLSM presented higher accuracy with a higher average Dice coefficient (0.9506) than MATLAB (0.9483), which was just second to the manual method (0.9568). Both the SLSM [intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) =0.987; coefficient of variation (CoV) =3.935%] and MATLAB (ICC =0.983; CoV =4.165%) showed excellent repeatability for the FAZ area. They also had excellent agreement with manual measurement (SLSM, ICC =0.973; MATLAB, ICC =0.968). Conclusion: The SLSM exhibits better accuracy than MATLAB in the automated FAZ measurement in Triton OCTA, the results of which were comparable to those obtained by manual measurement. This free and open-source program may be an accessible and feasible option for automated FAZ segmentation on Triton OCTA images.
Abstract Optic nerves are a part of the central nervous system, which is difficult to regenerate after injury. Optic nerve injury is usually accompanied by continuous apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and degeneration or necrosis of optic nerves, resulting in visual impairment or even complete blindness. At present, the basic research on optic nerve regeneration mainly focuses on protecting and maintaining the survival of RGCs after optic nerve injury, promoting RGCs axon regeneration, and reconstructing optic nerve function. In this paper, RGCs protection, axon regeneration, and optic nerve function reconstruction are used as key words to collect the latest domestic and foreign literatures on optic nerve regeneration. The research progress of optic nerve regeneration in recent years was reviewed from the aspects of antioxidant stress, provision of exogenous cytokines, inflammatory stimulation, anti-glial scar, gene regulation and so on, in order to help the follow-up basic research and clinical translation.
Dry eye disease (DED) is a common chronic ocular surface disease. It can not only cause discomfort and damage to the eyes but also easily lead to psychological disorders in patients. The most common psychological disorders related to DED are anxiety, depression and sleep disorder. To alleviate the condition of DED, in addition to active treatment for DED itself, it is also necessary for the patients to maintain a healthy psychological state. Therefore, attention should be paid to the pathogenesis, prevention and treatment measures of DED-related anxiety, depression and other psychological disorders.
