Ophthalmology Commons^™

Best Screening: Introducing The Neonatal Assessment Visual European Grid To Nicus In Tennessee, Gabrielle Sledge

OTD Capstone Projects

Blind Early Services Tennessee (BEST) is an early intervention agency that serves children ages 0-5 with visual impairments across Tennessee. BEST serves over 200 children and families across the state offering early intervention (BEST Start), parent empowerment (BEST Advocate), and family support (BEST Together) programming. The purpose of this project was to assist in the implementation of an early identification initiative (BEST Screening) using the Neonatal Assessment Visual European Grid (NAVEG). The NAVEG is a newborn vision screening shown to identify neurological risk for visual impairments. The long-term goal of this program is to promote the screening and early identification …

Cavernous Wonders: Delving Into Cavernous Sinus Syndrome In Neuro-Ophthalmology, Anza Rizvi, Ba

inSIGHT

Cavernous sinus syndrome (CSS) is any disease process that affects the cavernous sinus. This syndrome is marked by a complex interplay of neurovascular symptoms, primarily due to the compression or dysfunction of the cranial nerves that traverse the cavernous sinus. Understanding the intricate details of this syndrome is critical to providing optimal care and improving patient outcomes.

Seeing Clearly: A Bright Future With Light Adjustable Intraocular Lenses For Presbyopia, Shady Mina, Bs

inSIGHT

Presbyopia, or the age-related decline in the ability to focus on near objects, is a common vision disorder that affects 1.8 billion people globally, with this number expected to increase to 2.1 billion by 2030.^1-4 A diminished accommodation response is the primary cause of presbyopia.¹ The eye has a very complex accommodation mechanism that permits people to distinctly see objects from various distances.^1,3 Even though the precise mechanism of accommodation is yet to be determined, the current evidence strongly supports Helmholtz’s theory, which claims that the thickness and curvature of the eye’s lens increase while its diameter …

Medical Missions, Ethical Considerations And The Future For Healthcare Delivery In Ophthalmology, Robert Medina, Ba

inSIGHT

Beginning hundreds of years ago, priests from Europe embarked on ‘medical missions’ with the goals of delivering care to the body, mind, and soul. Hundreds of years later, members of the United States healthcare system set out on humanitarian medical missions to provide medical assistance to communities in developing countries.¹ The concept of providing care internationally as a product of global social responsibility has become engrained in the United States healthcare system, and is popular among providers, trainees, and pre-medical students. In 2023, 21.8% (n = 3264) of matriculating medical students reported participating in international volunteer work, while 7.0% …

Chronic Progressive External Ophthalmoplegia, Bahram Pashaee, Mph, Bs

inSIGHT

Chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia is an inherited or sporadic form of dystrophy that preferentially affects the extraocular muscles of the eye. While this dystrophy can manifest systemically, the extraocular muscles are commonly involved due to their constant metabolic demands and vulnerability to oxidative stress.¹ This preferential involvement of the eyelid levator muscle and extraocular muscles makes CPEO an important condition to consider in a differential diagnosis for eyelid asymmetry and double vision among other conditions such as myasthenia gravis, thyroid-associated ophthalmoplegia, and other mitochondrial myopathies.² This dystrophy tends to occur in the third or fourth decade of life. …

Macular Holes: Diagnosis, Treatment, And Complications, Ayra Khan, Bs

inSIGHT

Macular hole is a condition that affects the central visual field of the eye. Without prompt diagnosis and intervention, macular holes can progressively worsen, significantly impacting both vision and overall quality of life.

Cmv Retinitis: An Expert’S Perspective, Caitlyn Kwun, Ba

inSIGHT

Uveitis is a rare inflammatory disease with a prevalence of around 38 per 100,000 people and is the overall 5th leading cause of blindness in the developed world.^1,2 Uveitis is most commonly found in patients younger than 40 years of age, but it can occur in any age group with an etiology that varies within each age demographic.^1,3 While the etiology of certain forms of uveitis are not fully understood, there are some that are autoimmune in nature and others that are associated with systemic diseases such as sarcoidosis.⁴ Uveitis may be inflammatory or infectious. It may …

Bridging The Global Gap Of Blindness Through Artificial Intelligence - Exploring The Tools Of Ai To Address The Top Causes Of Blindness In Under-Resourced Communities Worldwide, Nathan Delacth, Bs

inSIGHT

Technological advancements have allowed us to submerge in a sea of innovation and excellence in medicine. Electronic health records transformed the healthcare landscape, improving portability of patient information while streamlining communication and fostering collaboration.¹ Imaging technologies, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and Optical computed tomography (OCT), granted us the ability to view internal structures using non-invasive methods. In a similar vein, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as an impactful force in various fields of medicine, and its influence on ophthalmology is no exception.

Evolution Of Lamellar Keratoplasty, Ishan Kasat, Bs

inSIGHT

Overview of Keratoplasty The evolution of corneal transplantation, or keratoplasty, has seen a paradigm shift from traditional penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) to the refined precision of lamellar keratoplasty (LK). Penetrating, or full thickness, keratoplasty is a replacement of all corneal layers: epithelium, Bowman's layer, stroma, Descemet's membrane, and endothelium.¹ Lamellar, or partial thickness, keratoplasty involves replacement of either epithelium and stroma (anterior lamellar) or Descemet’s membrane and endothelium (posterior lamellar).² From 1985 to 2004, over 95% of graft tissues were used for PKP. However, from 2005 to 2014, the percentage of PKP procedures decreased from 95% to 42%, while …

The Myopia Epidemic: Exploring The Pathology And Management Of The World’S Most Common Eye Disorder, Gabriella Baldassarre, Bs

inSIGHT

Myopia is the most common eye disorder in the world and an increasing cause of vision impairment in children.¹ Myopia is an imbalance in the refractive components of the eye and its length, leading to inaccurate focusing of light rays in front of the retina tissue instead of on it. There is a spectrum of severity of myopia, from mild nearsightedness to a more severe form known as high or degenerative myopia, which has the potential to cause vision loss and blindness. There is evidence of a developing myopia epidemic, with an estimated one-third of the world population affected …

Insight, Volume 4, Issue 1, 2024

inSIGHT

Contents

8 - The Myopia Epidemic: Exploring the Pathology and Management of the World’s Most Common Eye Disorder
By Gabriella Baldassare

15 - Evolution of Lamellar Keratoplasty
By Ishan Kasat

19 - Bridging the Global Gap of Blindness Through Artificial Intelligence
By Nathan Delacth

24 - CMV Retinitis: An Expert’s Perspective
By Caitlyn Kwun

29 - Macular Holes: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Complications
By Ayra Khan

36 - Chronic Progressive External Ophthalmoplegia
By Bahram Pashaee

39 - Medical Missions, Ethical Considerations, and the Future for Healthcare Delivery in Ophthalmology
By Robert Medina

43 - Shaping the Future of Vision: The Rise …

Ic3d Classification Of Corneal Dystrophies-Edition 3, Jayne Weiss, Christopher Rapuano, Berthold Seitz, Massimo Busin, Tero Kivelä, Nacim Bouheraoua, Cecilie Bredrup, Ken Nischal, Harshvardhan Chawla, Vincent Borderie, Kenneth Kenyon, Eung Kweon Kim, Hans Ulrik Møller, Francis Munier, Tim Berger, Walter Lisch

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

PURPOSE: The International Committee for the Classification of Corneal Dystrophies (IC3D) was created in 2005 to develop a new classification system integrating current information on phenotype, histopathology, and genetic analysis. This update is the third edition of the IC3D nomenclature.

METHODS: Peer-reviewed publications from 2014 to 2023 were evaluated. The new information was used to update the anatomic classification and each of the 22 standardized templates including the level of evidence for being a corneal dystrophy [from category 1 (most evidence) to category 4 (least evidence)].

RESULTS: Epithelial recurrent erosion dystrophies now include epithelial recurrent erosion dystrophy, category 1 ( …

Sans-Cnn: An Automated Machine Learning Technique For Spaceflight Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome With Astronaut Imaging Data, Sharif Amit Kamran, Khondker Fariha Hossain, Joshua Ong, Nasif Zaman, Ethan Waisberg, Phani Paladugu, Andrew Lee, Alireza Tavakkoli

SKMC Student Presentations and Publications

Spaceflight associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS) is one of the largest physiologic barriers to spaceflight and requires evaluation and mitigation for future planetary missions. As the spaceflight environment is a clinically limited environment, the purpose of this research is to provide automated, early detection and prognosis of SANS with a machine learning model trained and validated on astronaut SANS optical coherence tomography (OCT) images. In this study, we present a lightweight convolutional neural network (CNN) incorporating an EfficientNet encoder for detecting SANS from OCT images titled "SANS-CNN." We used 6303 OCT B-scan images for training/validation (80%/20% split) and 945 for testing …

Strabismus Management In Retinoblastoma Survivors, Babak Masoomian, Carol L. Shields, Hamid Riazi Esfahani, Atefeh Khalili, Fariba Ghassemi, Pukhraj Rishi, Mohammad Reza Akbari, Masoud Khorrami-Nejad

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

PURPOSE: To report the result of strabismus surgery in eye-salvaged retinoblastoma (Rb) patients.

METHODS: A retrospective case series including 18 patients with Rb and strabismus who underwent strabismus surgery after completing tumor treatment by a single pediatric ophthalmologist.

RESULTS: A total of 18 patients (10 females and 8 males) were included with a mean age of 13.3 ± 3.0 (range, 2-39) months at the time tumor presentation and 6.0 ± 1.5 (range, 4-9) years at the time of strabismus surgery. Ten (56%) patients had unilateral and 8(44%) had bilateral involvement and the most common worse eye tumor's group was D …

Enhancing Patient Understanding: The Impact Of Educational Videos On Ophthalmology Visits, Anna Zhao

Medical Student Research Symposium

A major component of effective patient-centered care is the patient’s understanding of their health condition and treatments. Increased knowledge of medical conditions can positively modify health behaviors, such as more participation in cancer screening and better adherence to medications. However, the readability of educational materials often does not match the patients’ reading abilities. Instead, educational videos, which have gained prominence with the emergence of tele-visits following COVID-19, have shown promise in being beneficial to patients with lower literacy levels. For ocular pathologies, early identification and care are key in preventing vision loss. Tele-education in ophthalmology could increase patient awareness of …

Systolic Hypertension As Side Effect Of Topical Low Dose Atropine Drops, Barry Wasserman, Erik Massenzio, Karen Lee, David Plager

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

PURPOSE: To present a case of increased systemic hypertension and pupil dilation related to low dose atropine eyedrops.

OBSERVATIONS: A thirteen-year-old male with progressive myopia received atropine 0.05% ophthalmic drops to slow down myopia progression. He exhibited systemic systolic hypertension, photophobia, and bilateral nonreactive mydriasis. The atropine drops were discontinued, and his blood pressure and pupillary function normalized.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPORTANCE: This case demonstrates sensitivity to low dose atropine with increased systemic blood pressure and pupillary dilation.

Ocular Syphilis: A Case Report And Public Health Discussion, Andrew L. Fine, Hope V. Daskalakis, Rutwik Pradeep Sharma M.D., Mirna Ogeilat M.D.

Advances in Clinical Medical Research and Healthcare Delivery

Ocular Syphilis describes a localized manifestation of a systemic treponema pallidum infection. It most commonly presents with decreased visual acuity due to uveitis and can occur at any time throughout the disease course. This report describes a case of undiagnosed syphilis that was serendipitously diagnosed with blood product screening. This case highlights the need for better public education and outreach pertaining to sexually transmitted infections. This report will detail this patient's clinical course and discuss how healthcare providers can aid in early disease detection to improve both patient outcomes and overall public health.

Targeting Cyp51 In The Treatment Of Acanthamoeba Keratitis, Ashkan Hassani, Vineet Sadarangani, Brad Haubrich

Annual Research Symposium

Acanthamoeba castellanii causes a rare but serious ocular infection called Acanthamoeba keratitis. Risk factors for infection include contact with contaminated water and poor hygiene of contact lenses. The first-line treatment is comprised of a months-long schedule of antibiotics. However, in cases where pharmacological interventions fail to address the infection, surgery may be necessary, with the continued risk of potential vision loss. Consequently, new treatments are needed, whether new pharmacological agents or new combination therapies with current agents. As an aerobic parasite, Acanthamoeba synthesizes ergosterol as a cell membrane insert, and ergosterol biosynthesis inhibitors (EBIs), common in antifungal pharmaceuticals, could potentially …

Efficacy And Safety Of Artificial Tears Containing Lipidure And Hypromellose For The Treatment Of Moderate Dry Eye Disease In Contact Lens Wearers, Caterina Gagliano, Marco Zeppieri, Antonio Longo, Giovanni Rubegni, Roberta Amato, Roberta Foti, Francesco Cappellani, Massimiliano Cocuzza, Federico Visalli, Ludovica Cannizzaro, Alessandro Avitabile, Giuseppe Gagliano, Lucia Lapenna, Fabiana D'Esposito

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

Background and Objectives: Dry eye disease (DED) affects 5–50% of the global population and deeply influences everyday life activities. This study compared the efficacy, tolerability, and safety of novel Respilac artificial tears containing lipidure and hypromellose (HPMC) with the widely used Nextal artificial tears, which are also HPMC-based, for the treatment of moderate DED in contact lenses (CL) wearers.

Materials and Methods: In a prospective, single-center, randomized investigation, 30 patients aged ≥18 years, diagnosed with moderate DED, and wearing CL were randomly assigned to the Respilac (n = 15) or Nextal group (n = 15). Patients self-administrated one drop of …

Long-Term Surgical Outcomes Of Glaucoma Drainage Implants In Eyes With Preoperative Intraocular Pressure Less Than 19 Mmhg, Shahin Hallaj, Jae-Chiang Wong, Lauren E. Hock, Natasha Nayak Kolomeyer, Aakriti G. Shukla, Michael J. Pro, Marlene R. Moster, Jonathan S. Myers, Reza Razeghinejad, Daniel Lee

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

BACKGROUND: This retrospective review reports on patients who underwent glaucoma drainage implant (GDI) surgery and had baseline intraocular pressure (IOP) of ≤18 mmHg with at least one year of follow-up.

METHODS: Clinical data of 67 eyes of 67 patients were collected from patients' charts, and the outcomes of GDI were evaluated until 7 years. GDI failure was defined as IOP reduction of less than 20% from the baseline at two consecutive visits three months after surgery, decline to no light perception, or if additional glaucoma surgery was performed.

RESULTS: The average age was 65.9 ± 13.2 years. Most cases were …

Endophthalmitis In An Elderly Patient - A Case Of Delayed Transfer And Successful Management, Vamsikalayan Borra, Roy Kondapavuluru, Sreejith Pillali, Sabhi Gull, Andres Suarez Parraga

Research Symposium

Introduction: Endophthalmitis is a severe and potentially sight-threatening condition that demands immediate attention and intervention. It is characterized by inflammation and infection within the eye, typically caused by bacterial or fungal organisms entering the eye, often following surgery or trauma. Usually present with sudden, severe eye pain, redness, decreased vision, and photophobia. As endophthalmitis can rapidly progress and cause irreversible damage to the eye, it is considered a true ocular emergency.

Case presentation: An 80-year-old woman, known to have Insulin-dependent Type 2 Diabetes mellitus and a history of breast cancer, arrived at the Emergency Department (ED) with persistent and worsening …

Development Of A Novel Covalently Bonded Conjugate Of Caprylic Acid Tripeptide (Isoleucine–Leucine–Aspartic Acid) For Wound-Compatible And Injectable Hydrogel To Accelerate Healing, Sachin B. Baravkar, Yan Lu, Abdul Razak Masoud, Qi Zhao, Jibao He, Song Hong

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Third-degree burn injuries pose a significant health threat. Safer, easier-to-use, and more effective techniques are urgently needed for their treatment. We hypothesized that covalently bonded conjugates of fatty acids and tripeptides can form wound-compatible hydrogels that can accelerate healing. We first designed conjugated structures as fatty acid–aminoacid1–amonoacid2–aspartate amphiphiles (Cn acid–AA1–AA2–D), which were potentially capable of self-assembling into hydrogels according to the structure and properties of each moiety. We then generated 14 novel conjugates based on this design by using two Fmoc/tBu solid-phase peptide synthesis techniques; we verified their structures and purities through liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry and nuclear …

The Benefits Of Medical Tetrahydrocannabinol On Glaucoma, Hunter Kane

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Introduction: This paper explores the potential therapeutic benefits of medical Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on glaucoma management, particularly in terms of intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction, ocular blood flow, and symptom management. Glaucoma, characterized by increased IOP and progressive optic nerve damage, is a leading cause of irreversible blindness. Current treatments focus on IOP control but may have inadequate efficacy or intolerable side effects, necessitating alternative approaches such as medical THC.

Methods: The study hypothesis posited that medical THC could significantly reduce IOP, enhance ocular blood flow, and improve symptom management in glaucoma patients. To test this hypothesis, a literature review supplemented by …