Examining factors that contribute to Certification of Vision Impairment (CVI) is important to enable an overview of progression, plan policies and distribution eye care services. To investigate associations between CVI, rate of change of CVI over a two-year period (2021-2023), percentage of people living in the 20% most deprived areas of Mid and South Essex (MSE), density of optometry practices and population of older people (>60 years) living in five sub-Integrated Care Board locations [Sub-ICB 1-5]) within MSE. Data were obtained from ICB databases and publicly available sources. Descriptive statistics were summarised to present data, and associations were explored using Spearman's rank correlation. CVI increased over the 2021-2023 period with age-related macular degeneration being the most common cause. In 2023, different Sub-ICB areas showed varying burden with Sub-ICB-2 having the lowest number of CVI (29.2 per 100,000) while Sub-ICB-4 and Sub-ICB-5 showing the highest (75.3-76.3 per 100,000). Sub-ICB-4 also had the highest percentage of older people (>60 years). Strong positive association (ρ = 0.90, p = 0.0374) was found between rate of change of CVI and deprivation. Moderate positive associations between CVI with density of optometry practices (ρ = 0.60, p = 0.285); and the percentage of people over the age of 60 years (ρ = 0.50, p = 0.391). CVI increases in areas with older population, and also in those living in 20% most deprived areas, highlighting the potential link between socio-economic factors and vision impairment. These factors are important for targeting interventions in specific areas to reduce the risk of blindness in MSE.
Vision and hearing impairment are leading causes of disability, yet nationally representative data in Australia, particularly among Indigenous peoples, are scarce. The Australian Eye and Ear Health Survey aimed to estimate prevalence and risk factors of vision impairment and hearing impairment among Indigenous and non-Indigenous adults aged 50 years and older nationwide. This cross-sectional survey used stratified, multistage, random cluster sampling and was conducted across 30 sites in Australia. Stratification was done by geographical location and by Indigenous status to achieve national representativeness. Participants were systematically assessed for any vision impairment (presenting visual acuity <6/12 in the better eye), and any hearing impairment, and moderate or worse hearing impairment (pure tone average>25 decibels hearing level [dB HL], and >40 dB HL in the better ear), respectively. Door-to-door recruitment was the primary recruitment method. Crude and age-standardised prevalence estimates were calculated. Multivariable logistic regression models identified risk and protective factors. Between Aug 1, 2022, and March 31, 2025, a total of 4519 of 6128 eligible participants were recruited, of whom 617 (13·6%) participants were Indigenous (53·2% [328 participants] female vs 46·8% [289 participants] male; mean age 63·8 [SD 10·6] years) and 3902 (86·4%) participants were non-Indigenous (54·8% [2137 participants] female vs 45·2% [1765 participants] male; mean age 70·5 [9·8] years). The age-standardised prevalence of any vision impairment was 11·1% (95% CI 8·4-14·5) among Indigenous participants, 3·9% (3·3-4·6) among non-Indigenous participants, and 5·2% (4·5-6·0) overall. Any vision impairment was 2·9-times more prevalent among Indigenous than non-Indigenous Australians. The age-standardised prevalences of any hearing impairment, and moderate or worse hearing impairment were 42·8% (95% CI 36·8-49·5) and 14·3% (11·0-18·4) in Indigenous participants; 39·4% (37·3-41·8) and 13·2% (12·0-14·5) in non-Indigenous participants, and 41·7% (39·6-43·9) and 14·2% (13·1-15·5) overall, respectively. Among younger Indigenous participants, moderate or worse hearing impairment was almost three-fold higher than in similarly aged non-Indigenous participants (9·4% [95% CI 5·3-15·8] vs 3·2% [1·8-5·5] among individuals aged 50-59 years), and two-fold higher for Indigenous participants aged 60-69 years (14·3% [9·7-20·4] vs 6·9% [5·4-8·8]). Multivariable-adjusted risk factors in the whole sample were increasing age (both vision impairment and hearing impairment), having diabetes (both), current smoking (hearing impairment), and residence in remote locations (vision impairment). Protective factors were attainment of tertiary education (both), having private health insurance (both), attending an eye examination in the last 12 months (vision impairment), and female sex (hearing impairment). Indigenous status was associated with approximately two to three-fold greater risk of any vision impairment or hearing impairment in age-sex adjusted models, but this effect was no longer statistically significant after adjustment for other covariables. A substantial gap in vision impairment and, to a lesser extent, hearing impairment, persists between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians aged 50 years and older. Targeting shared modifiable risk factors and protective factors could reduce this inequity. Australian Government and Macquarie University.
Autistic people are less likely to obtain a driver's license than neurotypical peers and may face higher collision risks when driving. While advanced driver assistance systems (e.g. hazard warnings) could enhance driving safety for this population, their efficacy remains understudied. In this study, licensed drivers with low and high levels of autistic traits, and non-autistic controls, completed simulated city drives, avoiding pedestrian hazards with and without a vibrotactile warning device. Gaze fixation, braking responses, and subjective workload were compared across warning conditions and between groups. Without warnings, autistic trait level had no effect on gaze fixation or brake responses to hazards. However, when driving with warnings, drivers low in autistic traits exhibited delayed initial fixation, shorter total fixation duration, and slower braking responses, but did not have increased collisions. While drivers with high autistic traits showed no behavioral changes when using warnings and reported high frustration, they achieved the greatest reduction in collisions. Unique gaze patterns were seen among drivers high in autistic traits, which might suggest differing adaptive behaviors developed by individuals in this group to manage hazard situations. These findings highlight the potential of driver assistance systems to enhance safety in this population and demonstrate the need to consider autistic trait levels when evaluating driving and the potential benefits and limitations of such driver assistance systems.
To compare concordance between ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer metrics acquired using widefield optical coherence tomography (OCT) and visual function assessed using Goldmann (G) II, III, and V stimulus sizes, in turn evaluating the role of spatial summation properties in binary classification of visual field (VF) results. Eighty three glaucoma and 34 healthy participants underwent widefield OCT scans, segmented to generate ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer measurements, and 24-2 VF assessment using GII, GIII, and GV in full threshold mode. Accuracy was assessed using mean weighted absolute error and 95% prediction interval width from mixed effects models between ganglion cells per stimulus area estimated from ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer thicknesses and VF thresholds compared using mixed effects models and post hoc analyses of estimated marginal means. Across healthy and glaucoma eyes, mean weighted absolute error and 95% prediction interval widths were smallest with GV (p < 0.0001), suggesting the least model variability with GV. With VF locations in glaucoma cohort subclassified into VF nondefective and VF defective, although significant differences in mean weighted absolute error and 95% prediction interval widths were noted within stimulus sizes (p < 0.0001), larger values indicating poorer model accuracy were noted in glaucoma VF defective locations relative to both healthy and VF nondefective models. Larger mean weighted absolute errors and 95% prediction interval widths were observed with increasing disease stage in VF defective locations across all stimulus sizes (p < 0.0001). Overall, structure-function models in healthy eyes and VF nondefective locations were similar across all stimulus sizes, but larger deviations were observed in VF defective locations and with worsening glaucoma stage. Our findings suggest that GIII sufficiently balances measurement variability and VF defect detection, but that disease stage-specific variations in the structure-function relationship exist and the ability to monitor VF defect progression over time is poor regardless of stimulus size.
To develop and evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of deep learning (DL) models in differentiating keratoconus (KC) from normal eyes with regular astigmatism. A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted at the Cornea and Diagnostic Department of Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, Pakistan. Galilei dual Scheimpflug-based corneal topography was performed to obtain four corneal maps: anterior axial curvature, posterior axial curvature, corneal thickness, and posterior elevation. Four convolutional neural network models were developed and trained on corneal maps to classify eyes as KC and normal. Model performance was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. A total of 5602 corneal maps were extracted from 1411 eyes (790 KC and 621 normal) of 827 participants, including KC (472) and normal (355) groups, aged 10 to 40y. The DL models achieved the highest accuracy with DenseNet-121 (99.2%), ResNet-50 (99.0%), Inception-V3 (98.6%), and EfficientNet-B0 (98.1%). DenseNet-121 and ResNet-50 achieved an AUC of 1.00. External validation on an independent dataset of 85 participants (150 eyes with 1050 extracted corneal maps) confirmed excellent accuracies for EfficientNet-B0 (98.1%), DenseNet-121 (98.3%), and ResNet-50 (97.1%). All DL models demonstrate excellent diagnostic accuracy for KC detection, highlighting the potential for clinical implementation and optimized KC management with greater precision.
Cruise ships and other confined travel settings remain highly vulnerable to infectious disease outbreaks. During 2025-2026, multiple norovirus outbreaks and the rare Andes hantavirus outbreak associated with the MV Hondius cruise highlighted the continuing public health challenges posed by both highly transmissible enteric viruses and emerging zoonotic pathogens. This review summarises recent cruise-associated viral outbreaks with particular emphasis on indirect transmission pathways, environmental persistence, and the limitations of conventional outbreak-control strategies. Norovirus outbreaks continued to occur despite implementation of enhanced sanitation and infection-control measures, highlighting the difficulty of interrupting transmission in environments where contaminated surfaces, aerosolised particles, and shared spaces may contribute to viral spread. In contrast, the Andes virus outbreak emphasised the additional risks associated with expedition-style travel, delayed symptom onset, zoonotic exposure, and complex international surveillance requirements. Current outbreak responses remain largely dependent on reactive measures such as cleaning, disinfection, passenger isolation, and contact tracing. However, the repeated occurrence of these outbreaks suggests that these approaches alone may be insufficient for long-term prevention in highly interconnected environments. Emerging environmental intervention strategies, including advanced air decontamination systems, antiviral surface coatings, self-disinfecting smart materials, and peptide-based antiviral technologies, have demonstrated promising antiviral activity against a range of respiratory and enteric viruses. These technologies may offer complementary passive protection approaches capable of reducing environmental contamination and minimising indirect viral transmission. Collectively, this review highlights the need to move beyond conventional reactive sanitation measures towards integrated and multidisciplinary preparedness strategies for future outbreak prevention in cruise ships and other crowded, closed, and interconnected settings.
To determine which data augmentation technique yields the best performance for deep learning models in classifying age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy (DR), glaucoma, and normal fundus images. This study employed an in silico experimental study design. Six data augmentation techniques: Colour Jitter, Contrast-Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalisation (CLAHE), Rotation, Translation, Gaussian Noise, and Poisson Noise were evaluated using controlled experiments with an EfficientNet-B0 model on a balanced dataset of 1,200 fundus photographs, 250 cases each for AMD, DR and glaucoma, and 450 normal fundus images curated from four main publicly available databases. The experiments were conducted in four phases: baseline, single augmentations, combined augmentations, and the impact of augmented dataset volume. Evaluation metrics and visualisations were computed with Python-based statistical and visualisation libraries. The results from this study show that data augmentation consistently increased the area under the curve (AUC) from 96.55% to 97.23% and accuracy from 85.83% (baseline) to 89.58%. The results indicate that augmentation effectiveness is disease-specific: Rotation and Colour Jitter yielded the highest sensitivity for AMD (99%), CLAHE maximised sensitivity for Diabetic Retinopathy (96%), and Translation was most effective for Glaucoma (83%). While single augmentations provided descriptive clinical improvements, the comprehensive combination of photometric, geometric, and noise augmentations yielded the best overall performance and achieved a statistically significant improvement over the baseline (Mean bootstrapped AUC = 0.9800, 95% CI: 0.9678, 0.9895; p= 0.0050). Data augmentation effectiveness is disease-dependent; specific pathologies respond better to distinct augmentation techniques due to different retinal biomarkers.
To evaluate risk behaviors for infectious keratitis among contact lens (CL) wearers in Switzerland, focusing on survey-based, observational subgroup analyses by contact lens type. This investigator-initiated, cross-sectional, survey-based, observational, multi-center study was conducted across five eye care institutions in Switzerland. Between August 2023 and August 2024, we interviewed participants wearing CLs using a structured questionnaire. We assigned four subgroups, which included daily disposable soft contact lenses (SCL), reusable SCL, rigid corneal contact lenses (RCL), and rigid scleral contact lenses (ScCL). The survey collected data on demographics, CL type and indication, self-assessed CL knowledge, and risk behaviors related to infectious keratitis. We classified risk behaviors into three main categories, including hand hygiene, wearing behavior, and exposure to water or saliva. 156 participants were included in the final analysis. Regarding the subgroup allocation, 38 of 156 (24.4%) wore daily disposable SCLs, 48 (30.8%) reusable SCLs, 40 (25.6%) RCLs, and 30 (19.2%) ScCLs. Overall, participants wearing rigid CLs felt better informed about CL care and demonstrated fewer risk behaviors than SCL users. However, risk behaviors were observed across all subgroups, including applying or removing lenses with potentially contaminated hands, extended CL wear, sleeping with CLs, and exposure to water or saliva. This study revealed variations in hygiene practices, wearing behavior, exposure to water or saliva, and risk perception across different CL types. Nevertheless, risk factors for infectious keratitis were present among all subgroups, underscoring the need for lens-specific patient education under professional supervision to improve compliance and mitigate complications.
KRAS remains one of the most challenging oncogenic targets in lung cancer because of its shallow binding surfaces, conformational flexibility, and limited availability of druggable pockets. In a preceding QSAR-guided screening and molecular docking study, compound C9, a quinazoline-based scaffold, was identified as a potential KRAS inhibitor. However, static docking alone is insufficient to fully characterize ligand stability, conformational persistence, and energetic behavior within dynamic solvent environments. Therefore, the present study employed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and end-point free energy calculations to further investigate the dynamic interaction profile of C9 within the KRAS binding pocket. The four top-ranked docking poses of C9 (Modes 1-4) were subjected to 200 ns explicit-solvent molecular dynamics simulations. Structural stability and conformational behavior were evaluated using root-mean-square deviation root-mean-square fluctuation (RMSF), radius of gyration (Rg), dynamic cross-correlation matrix (DCCM), principal component analysis (PCA), center-of-mass distance analysis, and residue-wise ligand contact frequency profiling. Binding energetics were further assessed using MM-GBSA and MM-PBSA calculations with energy decomposition analyses. The four binding modes exhibited distinct dynamic and energetic behaviors during the simulations. Modes one and 3 demonstrated comparatively greater structural persistence and reduced conformational instability relative to Modes 2 and 4. Mode one maintained prolonged ligand contact persistence with key switch-region residues, compact conformational sampling, and relatively stable COM distance profiles throughout most of the trajectory. PCA further revealed a comparatively confined conformational basin for Mode 1, consistent with restricted collective motions and reduced conformational dispersion. However, MM-GBSA and MM-PBSA analyses identified unusually large van der Waals energy fluctuations in Modes 1, 2, and 4, suggesting transient steric instability or nonphysical energetic excursions during portions of the simulations. In contrast, Mode 3 exhibited comparatively more stable and physically interpretable interaction energy profiles with sustained negative interaction energies and reduced fluctuation amplitudes. Across all systems, electrostatic interactions represented the dominant favorable energetic contribution to KRAS-C9 binding. The combined structural, dynamic, and energetic analyses indicate that C9 is capable of adopting dynamically persistent binding conformations within the KRAS binding pocket. Among the evaluated docking modes, Modes one and 3 exhibited the most favorable balance between structural persistence and energetic stability. These findings provide computational support for the potential of the quinazoline-based scaffold C9 as a candidate KRAS-targeting compound and establish a mechanistic framework for future structure-guided optimization and experimental validation in KRAS-driven lung cancer systems.
To analyze the research dynamics of myopia management functional lenses (MMFL) in the field of vision health over the past decade, revealing cutting-edge hotspots and development trends. Relevant literature on MMFL from 2016 to 2025 in the Web of Science (WOS) core database was searched by computer. The bibliometrics software Bibliometrix, VOSviewer 1.6.20 and CiteSpace.V.6.3.R1 were used for bibliometric and knowledge graph visualisation analyses. A total of 1143 WOS core database documents were included, and the number of publications has gradually increased over time. China and the United States rank the top two in terms of the number of publications and citations. The leading authors in this field are Cho P, Sankaridurg P, and Chen H, who have made significant contributions to research in two distinct subfields: contact lenses and spectacle lenses. Most relevant sources are OPHTHALMIC AND PHYSIOLOGICAL OPTICS, CONTACT LENS & ANTERIOR EYE, and OPTOMETRY AND VISION SCIENCE, all of which are considered to be highly authoritative publications in this field. These journals have published a considerable number of articles on a wide range of topics, including the mechanism of spectacle lenses, physiological changes associated with contact lenses, variations in fitting parameters, and the effects of myopia control. The keywords co-occurrence, clustering, thematic map, timeline view and emergent analyses reveal that recent research has been focused on the following areas: axial length, defocusing mechanism, choroidal thickness, and orthokeratology. The knowledge map of research on MMFL is constructed through bibliometric analysis, systematically summarizing the current status and hotspots of research. The integration of material, optics and intelligence is a trend that is set to be reflected in future functional lenses for myopia management.
Diabetic keratopathy affects more than 70% of patients, and there are limited effective intervention options for diabetes-related dry eye. Physically, the trigeminal nerve nourishes the corneal epithelial cells via neurotransmitter vesicles to support their integrity and function. Soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNAREs) are a family of small, evolutionarily conserved proteins found in eukaryotic cells that mediate neurotransmission through membrane fusion. Within SNARE complexes, the synaptosome-associated protein of 25 kDa (SNAP25) is the functional protein in neurotransmission. In this study, we investigated whether and how SNAP25 regulates the trigeminal nerve to promote corneal repair in diabetes. Using high-throughput protein mass spectrometry, we found that SNAP25 expression was significantly reduced in the corneas of diabetic rats with dry eye compared with healthy controls. Western blot analysis confirmed reduced SNAP25 expression in the trigeminal nerves of diabetic rats with dry eye. This was accompanied by an increased LC3B-II/I ratio and decreased p62 expression. Exogenous overexpression of SNAP25 via lentivirus-mediated gene transfer into the subconjunctival space improved corneal and trigeminal nerve repair. In cultured trigeminal neuronal primary cells isolated from postnatal rats, treatment with the oxidative trigger 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) induced autophagosome accumulation, which was reversed by SNAP25 overexpression through enhanced autophagosome fusion. Nevertheless, knockdown of SNAP25 exacerbated autophagosome accumulation in 4-HNE-exposed trigeminal neurons. Furthermore, SNAP25 expression was down-regulated in the trigeminal nerve partially due to 4-HNE-induced ERK phosphorylation. In conclusion, SNAP25 could be used to maintain nerve function and support corneal repair in cases of dry eye related to diabetes.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between serum uric acid (UA) levels and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), and to explore potential genetic links and causal relationships using large population-based cohorts. We analyzed data from 7443 participants in the LifeLines cohort and 90,107 participants in the UK Biobank, all aged ≥55 years. Glaucoma status was determined based on questionnaires and International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between serum UA levels and glaucoma, adjusting for demographic, clinical, and lifestyle covariates. Meta-analysis was performed to combine results across cohorts. Genetic correlation, polygenic risk score (PRS), and two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses were conducted to evaluate shared genetic architecture and causality. Higher serum UA levels were significantly associated with increased odds of glaucoma in the UK Biobank (per 0.1 mM increase, odds ratio [OR] = 1.06, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.02-1.11, P = 0.007 in the fully adjusted model), with consistent findings in meta-analysis. No association was observed in the LifeLines cohort. Genetic analyses revealed no evidence of shared genetic correlation or causality between UA and glaucoma. The UA PRS was not associated with glaucoma odds, and the glaucoma PRS showed no association with serum UA levels. Elevated serum UA levels were phenotypically associated with glaucoma, but genetic analyses did not support a causal link. UA may reflect systemic oxidative stress rather than directly contribute to glaucoma pathogenesis. Further studies are needed to clarify underlying mechanisms and clinical relevance.
暂无摘要（点击查看详情）
暂无摘要（点击查看详情）
We sought to improve the measurement of visual acuity (VA) by reducing the effect of unwanted optical artifacts in patients with retinal disease. We evaluated the effects of age and of inherent and induced aberrations on VA for controls and patients with changes to the posterior segment, anterior segment, or both. We tested VA in 30 controls and 17 patients, using Maxwellian view and a 3 mm pupil. This method reduces wavefront aberrations and allows high spatial frequency information to be transmitted at a constant retinal illuminance. We reduced glare, crowding, and fixation errors by projecting a single letter E in a small field size. We corrected only defocus, then determined the extent to which VA and standard deviation (SD) were influenced by age and inherent wavefront aberrations (astigmatism, spherical aberration, and root mean square error higher order aberrations (RMSHO)), as well as by induced aberrations (spherical aberrations and coma). Optical coherence tomography (OCT) provided central macular thickness (CMT), which was compared to wavefront and VA results to determine the effect of retinal status. The use of Maxwellian view and a 3 mm pupil reduced aberrations, but the association between VA and inherent astigmatism (p = 0.011) was significant for controls, although not for patients. For controls, RMSHO significantly increased with age (p = 0.014), despite no impact on VA. Induced aberrations, which were as large as with 5 mm pupils, significantly worsened mean VA in controls (p < 0.001) and patients (p < 0.001), more for positive spherical aberrations than negative. Using Maxwellian view and a 3 mm pupil reduced optical aberrations and their effects on VA, important in managing patients with retinal disease. Only residual astigmatism was related to poorer VA.
To determine the prevalence and associated factors of ophthalmic self-medication (OSM) and explore the lived experiences of adult patients with ophthalmic problems attending the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital Tertiary Eye Care and Training Center, Northwest Ethiopia. An institution-based mixed-methods study comprising a cross-sectional quantitative component and a phenomenological qualitative component. This study was conducted at the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital Tertiary Eye Care and Training Center, Northwest Ethiopia, between 28 May and 6 August 2025. For the quantitative component, 463 adult patients with ophthalmic problems were included via systematic random sampling. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and analysed with SPSS V.27. Multivariable logistic regression identified factors associated with OSM. For the qualitative component, eight participants with a history of OSM were purposively selected for in-depth interviews, and data were thematically analysed using OpenCode V.4.0. Prevalence of OSM, factors associated with OSM and themes from the qualitative analysis. The prevalence of OSM was 43.4% (95% CI 38.8 to 48.1). Significant predictors included long travel distance to health facilities (adjusted OR (AOR) = 4.49; 95% CI 2.48 to 8.16), drug availability at home (AOR=3.33; 95% CI 1.97 to 5.62), chronic systemic illness (AOR=2.96; 95% CI 1.51 to 5.80), poor knowledge about risks (AOR=3.19; 95% CI 1.95 to 5.21) and lack of health insurance (AOR=2.29; 95% CI 1.25 to 4.20). Older age was a protective factor (AOR=0.22; 95% CI 0.07 to 0.71). Qualitative findings revealed that accessibility, perceived knowledge, socio-cultural influences, symptom severity and health system barriers were key reasons for OSM. OSM is common in Northwest Ethiopia, driven by both individual and systemic factors. Interventions should focus on awareness creation, expanding insurance coverage, regulating over-the-counter sales and improving access to eye care services.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is an ordered, bilateral, and longitudinal disease, yet many artificial intelligence systems treat it as static binary image classification. We developed ORBIT-AMD, a multimodal trajectory-learning framework integrating color fundus photography and optical coherence tomography, bilateral eye-graph attention, concept bottlenecks, ordinal staging, cause-specific discrete-time survival prediction, and protocol alignment. In a UK Biobank development/internal-testing cohort of 58 214 participants and 109 691 eyes, and an external Tianjin Medical University Eye Hospital cohort of 1996 participants and 3780 eyes, ORBIT-AMD achieved AUROC values of 0.984 internally and 0.975 externally for prevalent late-AMD detection. Five-year late-AMD progression prediction achieved AUROC values of 0.825 and 0.767, respectively. Calibration and threshold analyses showed cohort-dependent workload and absolute-risk behavior, supporting site-specific calibration assessment and clinical-workflow evaluation before deployment. The concept bottleneck provided auditable lesion-level explanations, but these outputs should be interpreted as structured predictive explanations rather than causal evidence. ORBIT-AMD provides a trajectory-aware framework for AMD risk stratification and review prioritization, with prospective validation required before clinical implementation.
Warming eye masks, provide relief from symptoms of dry eye associated with meibomian gland disease along with other related eye conditions such as blepharitis, hordeolum and meibomian cysts. Certain eye mask designs use head straps to potentially improve mask retention on the face and heat transfer to the eyelids. Straps may increase pressure on the eye, the chance of tissue damage from direct heating, or pose a vision hazard for the user if they move around with the mask in place. This study investigated whether the presence of a strap clinically influences the performance of such eye masks. The surface temperature decline of a Blepha EyeBag® eye mask (Théa Pharmaceuticals Limited,UK) placed on the facial area of a composite manikin head was measured with a thermographer following heating in a domestic microwave for 30, 45 and 60 s at a 800mw settings. Thermographic images were analyzed based on scale intensity using ImageJ software, and variations in facial temperature were plotted. Using a strap significantly (F = 40.451, p < 0.001) decreased the temperature of the manikin upper eyelid by on average 1.4 ± 1.9 °C and lower eyelid by 2.5 ± 2.2 °C. The upper and lower eyelids heated to a similar temperature (on average 31.1 ± 5.1 °C vs 31.2 ± 5.4 °C, respectively; F = 0.064, p = 0.805), with temperate systematically increasing with Blepha EyeBag® heating time (F = 74.027, p < 0.001). The temperature dropped with time following heating (F = 56.483, p < 0.001) in a similar manner with and without the strap in place F = 1.949, p = 0.221). The temperature transference to the eyelid surfaces was higher without the strap (on average by 1.9 ± 2.2 °C) possibly because the mask could conform to the contours of the face better when it wasn't pulled tight.
Smart patches based on multimodal wearable devices enable real-time physiologic monitoring and proactive interventions to promote wound healing. Herein, we describe a biodegradable wearable electrotherapy patch (E-patch) that integrates noninvasive self-powered electrical stimulation (ES) therapy for tissue regeneration and a multiplexed electrochemical biosensor array for continuous monitoring of wound status. Custom-developed supercapacitor arrays (SCs) supply stable energy for ES, and constructed wearable biosensors enable sensitive monitoring of biomarkers in the wound exudate. As-fabricated wearable E-patches degrade harmlessly after operation, significantly reducing the environmental pollution pressure associated with flexible electronics. In vitro studies demonstrated that an applied electric field (EF) significantly promotes cell-directed alignment, which is crucial for tissue regeneration and remodeling. In vivo investigations in the Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat model illustrate that combination therapy dramatically accelerates wound healing. Overall, this work provides a promising strategy toward integrated smart wound management and future feedback-assisted wearable therapeutic systems.
Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible vision loss, with elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) being the primary modifiable risk factor. Experimental models that reliably induce ocular hypertension (OHT) are essential for understanding disease mechanisms and evaluating therapeutic interventions. Wistar rats are widely used due to their ocular anatomy and suitability for repeated IOP measurements. This systematic review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines and included studies published from 2000 onwards. Multiple databases were searched to identify experimental studies inducing OHT in Wistar rats. Data on model type, peak IOP, duration of elevation, and measurement techniques were extracted. Methodological quality was assessed using the SYRCLE risk of bias tool. A total of 27 studies were included. Considerable heterogeneity was observed in the onset, magnitude, and duration of IOP elevation across models. Corticosteroid models showed gradual IOP increase, typically peaking around 3-4 weeks. Intracameral injection models induced rapid IOP spikes, whereas microsphere-based approaches demonstrated more sustained elevation. Episcleral vein ligation and cauterization models resulted in immediate and prolonged IOP elevation, while laser photocoagulation produced moderate to high increases with sustained effects. The circumlimbal suture model exhibited a biphasic response, with an initial spike followed by prolonged elevation. Variability in IOP measurements was influenced by differences in tonometry and experimental protocols. Wistar rat models of OHT exhibit diverse temporal and mechanistic profiles, with no single model fully replicating all aspects of glaucoma. This review uniquely provides a synthesis of peak IOP, time to peak, and duration of elevation across models, offering a practical framework for model selection.