Nimesh Patel, MD
Vitreo-retinal fellow
Bascom Palmer Eye Institute
This session was full of interesting presentations. Dr. Neiraj Jain started by sharing a series of 6 patients with a novel maculopathy associated with pentosan polysulfate sodium (PDS), a common treatment for cystitis. Notably, these were all cases that had a similar appearance to pattern dystrophy.
Next, Dr. Akshay Thomas presented on the effect of outer retinal abnormalities in symptomatic vitreomacular adhesion in the OASIS study. This study of ocriplasmin vs sham found that ellipsoid zone loss, external limiting membrane disruption or subretinal fluid at 24 months were poor prognostic signs.
After this, Dr. Mrinali Gupta discussed a very interesting project on vitreous extracellular vesicles. These vesicles were able to be used to deliver labeled proteins to the retinal tissue in vivo. This could provide a future avenue for gene therapy delivery.
Dr. Robert Wong then presented date on 26 cases of solar retinopathy after the eclipse of August 2017. Peculiarly, 5 of the patients reported wearing ISO approved eyewear.
Following, Dr. Micheal Marmor enlightened the audience on the health of the retinal pigment epithelium after stopping hydroxychloroquine due to toxicity. The mild cases stabilized, while the severe cases continually progressed and behaved more like retinal dystrophies. The reasons behind this phenomenon are still unknown, and these findings stress the importance of early detection.
Dr. Young Hee Yoon then presented OCTA imaging findings in tamoxifen retinopathy. The findings included saccular capillary telangiectasias as well as right angled vessels. Surprisingly, the findings resembled those seen in macular telangiectasia type 2 and could suggest a similar pathophysiology.
Dr. Steven Schwartz gave a thought provoking talk on the common association between central serous chorioretinopathy and obstructive sleep apnea. He shared some long standing cases of CSR that improved rapidly after treatment for the sleep apnea. Of interest, many of the patients had a normal body habitus.
Dr. Fernando Arevalo reported the outcomes of treatment for choroidal neovascularization in central serous chorioretinopathy. The mean number of anti-VEGF injections that were given were 4.45. The treatment was was found to be efficacious.
