Ophthalmology Overview: Unraveling Biological Pathways of Glaucoma, Classification for Uveitis Subtypes, and More

Highlighting the latest ophthalmology-related news reported across MJH Life Sciences^™.

Examining Biological Pathways of Glaucoma Development

In assessing biological pathways associated with glaucoma, an article by Ophthalmology Times^® highlights a series of genes and polymorphisms that have been implicated for the disease in predicting progression, identifying those at increased risk, and allowing treatment to be optimized.

Noted as the leading global cause of irreversible blindness, glaucoma is a multifactorial disorder resulting from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. With complex inheritance responsible for common adult-onset forms of the disease, Mendelian inheritance is also known to occur in rare instances of early-onset disease.

Although early detection of glaucomatous damage is vital to halt irreversible damage, it was suggested that periodic screening of primary open-angle glaucoma is lower than expected. Authors Fotis Topouzis, MD, PhD, and Dimitrios Giannoulis, MD, note that applying genetics to risk assessment of glaucoma presentation can improve patient management. However, this may not be feasible for all patients, with further research warranted before comprehensive genetic risk assessment and targeted gene-based therapy can be achieved.

NIH-Funded Coalition Identifies 25 Subtypes of Uveitis

As reported by Ophthalmology Times^®, an international coalition of eye researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Eye Institute developed classification criteria for 25 of the most common types of uveitis, a collection of more than 30 diseases characterized by inflammation inside the eye.

Based previously on the primary location of inflammation in the eye, researchers of the Standardization of Uveitis Nomenclature Working Group composed their criteria through 4 phases of analysis: informatics, case collection, case selection, and machine learning. With machine learning serving to help identify important characteristics that distinguish each disease subtype, the researchers entered 5766 cases into a database in the case collection phase, of which 4046 were selected.

In assessing efficacy of the criteria, the NIH noted that the overall performance was over 90% within uveitic class, suggesting that it could be leveraged in clinical and translational research.

Consistent Administration of Ranibizumab System Proves Effective

According to data from the phase 3 Archway trial, the Port Delivery System (PDS) with ranbizumab, an investigational drug delivery system designed for continuous long-term intravitreal drug delivery, was found to be safe and effective in the treatment of neovasclular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) compared with monthly intravitreal injections of ranbizumab.

As reported by Modern Retina^™, study participants underwent either therapy refills every 24 weeks in the PDS group or monthly intravitreal injections. Both patient groups received an average 5 injections over 5 months, after their diagnosis of nAMD, and had a mean best-corrected visual acuity of 20/32 at baseline.

The analysis found the PDS treatment to be both noninferior and equivalent to monthly injections, with no supplemental ranibizumab injections needed in 98% of the PDS group during the first refill-exchange cycle on week 24 and in 95% during the second refill-exchange cycle ending at week 48.