Intraocular pressure and medication changes associated with Xen gel stent: A systematic review of the literature

The Xen gel stent (Allergan Inc, an AbbVie company; Dublin, Ireland) was conceived as an option for patients requiring modest IOP reduction but for whom trabeculectomy was not yet indicated. As with any glaucoma surgery, establishing criteria for patient selection and identifying factors that contribute to a high likelihood of success are important. To help guide clinical decision-making, a systematic review of published studies on the gel stent was performed, with the goal of understanding postoperative outcomes based on clinical and patient factors. Results were organized around a series of pertinent clinical questions based on scenarios encountered in clinical practice. Criteria for including studies were intentionally broad, with the objective of simulating the diverse population of glaucoma patients encountered in real-world practice. Outcomes for IOP and medication reduction postoperatively were assessed in various analyses, including in eyes with various glaucoma types and severity; in eyes naïve to surgery as well as those with a history of prior incisional glaucoma surgery; and when surgery was performed as a standalone procedure or at the time of cataract surgery. The results of each of the various analyses were consistent in demonstrating that successful gel stent surgery achieved a postoperative IOP of approximately 14.0 mm Hg and reduction to fewer than 1 glaucoma medication. Additional data are shown on outcomes by method of implant (ab interno vs ab externo); intraoperative use of antifibrotics; and rates of needling in published studies

Single administration of intracameral bimatoprost implant 10 µg in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension

INTRODUCTION: This study evaluated the intraocular pressure (IOP)-lowering efficacy and safety of a single intracameral administration of bimatoprost implant 10 µg in adults with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. METHODS: Two identically designed, randomized, 20-month, parallel-group, phase 3 clinical trials (one study eye/patient) compared three administrations of 10- or 15-µg bimatoprost implant (day 1, weeks 16 and 32) with twice-daily topical timolol maleate 0.5%. An open-label, 24-month, phase 1/2 clinical trial compared one or two implants administered in the study eye with once-daily topical bimatoprost 0.03% in the fellow eye. Separate analyses of the pooled phase 3 and phase 1/2 study datasets evaluated outcomes in the 10-µg bimatoprost implant and comparator treatment arms after a single implant administration, up to the time of implant re-administration or rescue with IOP-lowering medication. RESULTS: In the phase 3 studies, 10-µg bimatoprost implant single administration demonstrated IOP reductions (hour 0) of 4.9-7.0 mmHg through week 15 from a mean (standard deviation, SD) baseline IOP of 24.5 (2.6) mmHg (n = 374); IOP in the topical timolol BID group was reduced by 6.0-6.3 mmHg from a mean (SD) baseline IOP of 24.5 (2.6) mmHg (n = 373). In the phase 1/2 study (n = 21), median time to use of additional IOP-lowering treatment (Kaplan-Meier analysis) was 273 days (approximately 9 months), and 5 of 21 enrolled patients (23.8%) required no additional IOP-lowering treatment up to 24 months after single administration. In each study, after a single implant administration there were no reports of corneal edema, corneal endothelial cell loss, or corneal touch, and no patients had 20% or greater loss in corneal endothelial cell density. CONCLUSIONS: Bimatoprost implant single administration lowers IOP and has a favorable safety profile. Additional studies are needed to further evaluate the duration of effect and factors predicting long-term IOP lowering after a single implant administration. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBERS: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02247804, NCT02250651, and NCT01157364

Compositional analysis of extracellular aggregates in the eyes of patients with exfoliation syndrome and exfoliation glaucoma

Purpose: Exfoliation syndrome (XFS) is a condition characterized by the production of insoluble fibrillar aggregates (exfoliation material; XFM) in the eye and elsewhere. Many patients with XFS progress to exfoliation glaucoma (XFG), a significant cause of global blindness. We used quantitative mass spectrometry to analyze the composition of XFM in lens capsule specimens and in aqueous humor (AH) samples from patients with XFS, patients with XFG and unaffected individuals. Methods: Pieces of lens capsule and samples of AH were obtained with consent from patients undergoing cataract surgery. Tryptic digests of capsule or AH were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and relative differences between samples were quantified using the tandem mass tag technique. The distribution of XFM on the capsular surface was visualized by SEM and super-resolution light microscopy. Results: A small set of proteins was consistently upregulated in capsule samples from patients with XFS and patients with XFG, including microfibril components fibrillin-1, latent transforming growth factor-β-binding protein-2 and latent transforming growth factor-β-binding protein-3. Lysyl oxidase-like 1, a cross-linking enzyme associated with XFS in genetic studies, was an abundant XFM constituent. Ligands of the transforming growth factor-β superfamily were prominent, including LEFTY2, a protein best known for its role in establishing the embryonic body axis. Elevated levels of LEFTY2 were also detected in AH from patients with XFG, a finding confirmed subsequently by ELISA. Conclusions: This analysis verified the presence of suspected XFM proteins and identified novel components. Quantitative comparisons between patient samples revealed a consistent XFM proteome characterized by strong expression of fibrillin-1, lysyl oxidase-like-1, and LEFTY2. Elevated levels of LEFTY2 in the AH of patients with XFG may serve as a biomarker for the disease

Gestational Exposure to Sidestream (Secondhand) Cigarette Smoke Promotes Transgenerational Epigenetic Transmission of Exacerbated Allergic Asthma and Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia

Embryonic development is highly sensitive to xenobiotic toxicity and in utero exposure to environmental toxins affects physiological responses of the progeny. In the United States, the prevalence of allergic asthma (AA) is inexplicably rising and in utero exposure to cigarette smoke increases the risk of AA and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in children and animal models. We reported that gestational exposure to sidestream cigarette smoke (SS), or secondhand smoke, promoted nicotinic acetylcholine receptor-dependent exacerbation of AA and BPD in mice. Recently, perinatal nicotine injections in rats were reported to induce peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ-dependent transgenerational transmission of asthma. Herein, we show that first generation and second generation progeny from gestationally SS-exposed mice exhibit exacerbated AA and BPD that is not dependent on the decrease in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ levels. Lungs from these mice show strong eosinophilic infiltration, excessive Th2 polarization, marked airway hyperresponsiveness, alveolar simplification, decreased lung compliance, and decreased lung angiogenesis. At the molecular level, these changes are associated with increased RUNX3 expression, alveolar cell apoptosis, and the antiangiogenic factor GAX, and decreased expression of HIF-1α and proangiogenic factors NF-κB and VEGFR2 in the 7-d first generation and second generation lungs. Moreover, the lungs from these mice exhibit lower levels of microRNA (miR)-130a and increased levels of miR-16 and miR-221. These miRs regulate HIF-1α-regulated apoptotic, angiogenic, and immune pathways. Thus the intergenerational effects of gestational SS involve epigenetic regulation of HIF-1α through specific miRs contributing to increased incidence of AA and BPD in the progenies

Delta oscillation coupled propagating fast ripples precede epileptiform discharges in patients with focal epilepsy.

Epileptiform spikes are used to localize epileptogenic brain tissue. The mechanisms that spontaneously trigger epileptiform discharges are not yet elucidated. Pathological fast ripple (FR, 200-600 Hz) are biomarkers of epileptogenic brain, and we postulated that FR network interactions are involved in generating epileptiform spikes. Using macroelectrode stereo intracranial EEG (iEEG) recordings from a cohort of 46 patients we found that, in the seizure onset zone (SOZ), propagating FR were more often followed by an epileptiform spike, as compared with non-propagating FR (p \u3c 0.05). Propagating FR had a distinct frequency and larger power (p \u3c 1e-10) and were more strongly phase coupled to the peak of iEEG delta oscillation, which likely correspond with the DOWN states during non-REM sleep (p \u3c 1e-8), than non-propagating FR. While FR propagation was rare, all FR occurred with the highest probability within +/- 400 msec of epileptiform spikes with superimposed high-frequency oscillations (p \u3c 0.05). Thus, a sub-population of epileptiform spikes in the SOZ, are preceded by propagating FR that are coordinated by the DOWN state during non-REM sleep

Delta Oscillation Coupled Propagating Fast Ripples Precede Epileptiform Discharges in Patients With Focal Epilepsy

Epileptiform spikes are used to localize epileptogenic brain tissue. The mechanisms that spontaneously trigger epileptiform discharges are not yet elucidated. Pathological fast ripple (FR, 200–600 Hz) are biomarkers of epileptogenic brain, and we postulated that FR network interactions are involved in generating epileptiform spikes. Using macroelectrode stereo intracranial EEG (iEEG) recordings from a cohort of 46 patients we found that, in the seizure onset zone (SOZ), propagating FR were more often followed by an epileptiform spike, as compared with non-propagating FR (p \u3c 0.05). Propagating FR had a distinct frequency and larger power (p \u3c 1e-10) and were more strongly phase coupled to the peak of iEEG delta oscillation, which likely correspond with the DOWN states during non-REM sleep (p \u3c 1e-8), than non-propagating FR. While FR propagation was rare, all FR occurred with the highest probability within +/− 400 msec of epileptiform spikes with superimposed high-frequency oscillations (p \u3c 0.05). Thus, a sub-population of epileptiform spikes in the SOZ, are preceded by propagating FR that are coordinated by the DOWN state during non-REM sleep