OPHTHALMOLOGICA Vol 235 Issue 1 featuring scleral buckle for preserving visual field

SCLERAL BUCKLE BETTER THAN VITRECTOMY FOR PRESERVING VISUAL FIELD

In eyes with primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD), the visual function of areas unaffected by the condition is more impaired after pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) than it is after scleral buckle reattachment surgery, according to the results of a prospective, comparative interventional study. It showed that, in 50 eyes with RRD, the postoperative visual field total deviation values for the preoperatively un-detached areas of the retina were significantly better in 25 eyes treated with scleral buckle than in 25 eyes treated with PPV. The authors postulate that vitrectomy may be the more traumatising technique because of the additional measures it can involve, such as fluid-air exchange or gas injection. C Koutsandrea et al, “Scleral Buckling versus Vitrectomy for Retinal Detachment Repair: Comparison of Visual Fields and Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness”, Ophthalmologica 2016; Volume 235, Issue 1 (DOI: 10.1159/000439443).

RANIBIZUMAB EFFECTIVE IN HIGH-RISK PDR

Intravitreal ranibizumab (IVR), alone or in combination with panretinal photocoagulation (PRP), is effective in the treatment of high-risk proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) without vitreoretinal traction, according to the results of a multicentre randomised trial. The study involved 35 high-risk PDR patients and showed that there was a complete regression of disc neovascularisation in 44.4 per cent of eyes treated with PRP plus IVR, 37.5 per cent of eyes treated with IVR alone, and 30.8 per cent of eyes treated with PRP alone. The complete regression rates for new vessels elsewhere were 100 per cent, 75 per cent and 69.2 per cent, respectively. Furthermore, during the one-year duration of treatment, there was no need for laser rescue treatment in IVR-treated eyes. J Figueira et al, “Ranibizumab for High-Risk Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy: An Exploratory Randomized Controlled Trial”, Ophthalmologica 2016; Volume 235, Issue 1 (DOI: 10.1159/000442026).

CLOSING IN ON GENES FOR HIGH MYOPIA

A case-control study has identified three loci of genetic variants that render individuals among China’s Han population more susceptible to developing high myopia. The loci, ZC3H11B, RSPO1 and GJD2, were among five loci identified in a previous genome-wide association study as being involved in the development of long axial length. The study’s authors genotyped five single nucleotide polymorphisms in 296 unrelated highly myopic individuals and 300 matched emmetropic controls by the SNaPshot method. They compared distribution of genotypes in the cases and controls in codominant, dominant, and recessive genetic models, using SNPStats online software. Li Y et al, “Association between Ocular Axial Length-Related Genes and High Myopia in a Han Chinese Population”, Ophthalmologica 2016; Volume 235, Issue 1 (DOI: 10.1159/000439446).