Week in Review - December 17, 2023

Hello, and welcome to another edition of the EyePod Week in Review podcast, the final version for 2023! We will look back at some of the top stories from the past week.

Study details how genes in retina get regulated during development

A team of researchers at the National Institutes of Health have mapped the 3D organization of genetic material of key developmental stages of human retinal formation, using intricate models of a retina grown in the lab

According to an NIH/National Eye Institute news release, the findings lay a foundation for understanding clinical traits in many eye diseases, and reveal a highly dynamic process by which the architecture of chromatin, the DNA and proteins that form chromosomes, regulates gene expression.

By utilizing deep Hi-C sequencing, a tool used for studying 3D genome organization, the researchers were able to create a high-resolution map of chromatin in a human retinal organoid at 5 key points in development.

The research team’s results uncovered an interesting image, with spatial organization of the genome within the nucleus is transformed during retinal development, facilitating expression of specific genes at key time periods. For example, at a stage when immature cells start developing retinal cell characteristics, chromatin contact points shift from a mostly proximal-enriched state to add more distal interactions.

Machine learning sees into the future to prevent sight loss in humans

A team of researchers from Tokyo Medical and Dental University have developed models based on machine learning that predict long-term visual acuity in patients with high myopia, one of the top three causes of irreversible blindness in many regions of the world.

As machine learning has been refined, it has been used to predict the outcomes of many health conditions. A team of researchers from Japan has found a way to predict whether people with severe shortsightedness will have good or bad vision in the future.

The researchers from the Tokyo Medical and Dental University developed a machine-learning model that could effectively predict—and visualize—the risk of visual impairment over the long term.

Ultimately, contacts, glasses, or surgery can be used to correct the vision of patients diagnosed with myopia, but having high myopia is not just inconvenient; half of the time it leads to a condition called pathologic myopia, and complications from pathologic myopia are a leading causes of blindness.

Researchers conducted a cohort study and looked at the visual acuity of 967 Japanese patients at TDMU’s Advanced Clinical Center for Myopia after 3 and 5 years had passed. With this information, they constructed a dataset from 34 variables that are often collected during ophthalmic examinations, such as age, current visual acuity, and the diameter of the cornea.

Tje researchers then reviewed several p machine-learning models such as random forests and support vector machines. Of these models, the logistic regression-based model performed the best at predicting visual impairment at 5 years.

FDA approves travoprost intracameral implant

Glaukos Corp.'s iDose TR has received FDA approval for the reduction of IOP in patients with ocular hypertension or open-angle glaucoma following a new drug application (NDA) submission.

According to Glaukos Corp,travoprost intracameral implant is a long-duration, intracameral procedural pharmaceutical therapy designed to deliver around-the-clock therapeutic levels of a proprietary formulation of travoprost inside the eye for extended periods.

The therapy is intended to improve the standard of care by addressing the ubiquitous patient non-compliance issues and chronic side effects associated with topical glaucoma medications.

Made from medical-grade titanium, iDose TR is implanted through the trabecular meshwork and back wall of Schlemm's canal, directly into scleral tissue. Once implanted, 75 mcg of a novel, preservative-free, proprietary formulation of travoprost continuously elutes into the anterior chamber via membrane-controlled diffusion, allowing for the 24/7 release of medication.

Grant from the Optica Foundation fuels research to help detect undetectable glaucoma

The Optica Foundation released information on new vision research funded by the 2023 Optica Foundation Challenge.

Fernando Zvietcovich, PhD, Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru, Peru, has proposed a light-based technique to solve challenges in diagnosing health-related concerns, specifically glaucoma.

Under the 2023 Optica Foundation Challenge Samantha Grist, PhD, The University of British Columbia, Canada, has also proposed a light-based technique to help diagnose menopause.

According to a press release from Optica Foundation, each research effort is supported by a $100,000 grant from the Optica Foundation, and Grist and Zvietcovich will use these funds to advance their research.

Thank you for listing to this week’s EyePod Week in Review. For more on these and other cutting-edge articles, visit Ophthalmology Times dot com. We would like to wish you all a very happy holiday season, and we look forward to providing you all of the latest news in ophthalmology in 2024.