Optical coherence tomography angiography of diffuse unilateral subacute neuroretinitis

Purpose: Diffuse unilateral subacute neuroretinitis (DUSN) is often a challenging diagnosis to make. We present a DUSN case with its multimodal imaging to aid in the diagnosis, emphasizing the observations on optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Observations: The evolution of a DUSN case is presented. Fundus photography and OCTA aided in the identification of the nematode. Conclusions and importance: DUSN is a difficult diagnosis to establish. We report the first case to our knowledge in which OCTA aided in the diagnosis of DUSN

Neovascularization of the iris in retinoschisis

Purpose: To report the association of rubeosis iridis with chronic bullous degenerative peripheral retinoschisis. Observations: A 63-year-old female presented with acute hyphema and neovascularization of the iris in association with elevated intraocular pressure. Posterior segment examination including imaging revealed no vascular occlusion as a potential cause. However, large, peripheral bullous retinoschisis was noted in the right eye. No nonperfusion aside from that seen within the schism detachment, or neovascularization of the retina on wide-field fundus photography or fluorescein angiography was noted. Bullous retinoschisis was also found in the left eye. The patient was treated conservatively with prednisolone acetate and timolol eye drops. Conclusions and importance: Chronic bullous retinoschisis can be associated with anterior segment neovascularization such as rubeosis iridis, presumably due to non-perfusion within the retinoschisis cavity

Retinitis Pigmentosa: Novel Therapeutic Targets and Drug Development

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a heterogeneous group of hereditary diseases characterized by progressive degeneration of retinal photoreceptors leading to progressive visual decline. It is the most common type of inherited retinal dystrophy and has a high burden on both patients and society. This condition causes gradual loss of vision, with its typical manifestations including nyctalopia, concentric visual field loss, and ultimately bilateral central vision loss. It is one of the leading causes of visual disability and blindness in people under 60 years old and affects over 1.5 million people worldwide. There is currently no curative treatment for people with RP, and only a small group of patients with confirmed RPE65 mutations are eligible to receive the only gene therapy on the market: voretigene neparvovec. The current therapeutic armamentarium is limited to retinoids, vitamin A supplements, protection from sunlight, visual aids, and medical and surgical interventions to treat ophthalmic comorbidities, which only aim to slow down the progression of the disease. Considering such a limited therapeutic landscape, there is an urgent need for developing new and individualized therapeutic modalities targeting retinal degeneration. Although the heterogeneity of gene mutations involved in RP makes its target treatment development difficult, recent fundamental studies showed promising progress in elucidation of the photoreceptor degeneration mechanism. The discovery of novel molecule therapeutics that can selectively target specific receptors or specific pathways will serve as a solid foundation for advanced drug development. This article is a review of recent progress in novel treatment of RP focusing on preclinical stage fundamental research on molecular targets, which will serve as a starting point for advanced drug development. We will review the alterations in the molecular pathways involved in the development of RP, mainly those regarding endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and apoptotic pathways, maintenance of the redox balance, and genomic stability. We will then discuss the therapeutic approaches under development, such as gene and cell therapy, as well as the recent literature identifying novel potential drug targets for RP