Ophthalmologica Highlights

SUBFOVEAL CHOROIDAL THINNING A BIOMARKER FOR CARDIOVASCULAR RISK Prominent reductions in the subfoveal choroidal layer could provide a useful biomarker for predicting cardiovascular (CV) risk in patients of advanced age with subclinical atherosclerosis. The retrospective, non-interventional, cross-sectional study included 193 eyes from 193 subjects whose cardiovascular risk were calculated based coronary artery calcification (CAC) as determined by cardiac-gated computed tomography. Enhanced-depth imaging optical coherence tomography showed that average subfoveal choroidal thickness differed significantly among low, intermediate and high CV risk groups (all p<0.05). In addition, multi-variate regression analyses showed that higher CAC scores were significantly associated with subfoveal choroidal thinning. JH Kim et al, “Relationship between Coronary Artery Calcification and Central Chorioretinal Thickness in Patients with Subclinical Atherosclerosis” Ophthalmologica 2021, Volume 244, Issue 1. CELL CYCLE DEREGULATION A KEY PROCESS IN RETINOBLASTOMA TUMORIGENESIS A study comparing using retinal tissues of retinoblastoma (RB) patients with those of normal retinas has revealed six key genes involved in the pathogenesis of the malignancy. The study’s authors performed RNA Sequencing on three RB tissues and three normal retinas to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and used bioinformatic analysis to screen them for tumorigenic relevancy. Function and pathway enrichment and protein-protein interaction analysis showed that the cell cycle was the most prominently upregulated pathway found in RB tissues. Comprehensive bioinformatic analyses indicated that six key genes relevant to cell cycle regulation may be potential key factors in RB tumorigenesis. The authors conclude that their findings may lay the foundation for the development of novel targeted therapies. C Nie et al, “RNA Sequencing and Bioinformatic Analysis on Retinoblastoma Revealing that Cell Cycle Deregulation Is a Key Process in Retinoblastoma Tumorigenesis”, Ophthalmologica 2021, Volume 244, Issue 1. OCT-A MAY HELP UNLOCK MYSTERIES OF GA Optical coherence tomography-angiography (OCT-A) is providing a new window into the pathophysiology of geographic atrophy (GA), according to authors of comprehensive review of the current literature regarding the use of the new technology in the degenerative retinal condition. The authors note that recent studies using OCT-A have demonstrated that choriocapillaris flow alterations that are particularly associated with the development of GA, exceed atrophy boundaries spatially, and are a prognostic factor for future GA progression. Furthermore, OCT-A may be helpful to differentiate GA from mimicking diseases. Reports also provide evidence for a potential protective effect of specific forms of choroidal neovascularisation in the context of GA. PL Müller et al,“Optical Coherence Tomography-Angiography in Geographic Atrophy”, Ophthalmologica 2021, Volume 244, Issue 1.