The Lens Pod

Too busy to read the Lens? Listen to our weekly summary here! In this week’s episode, your host, Eric Wan, discusses: When it comes to anti-VEGF injections, Medicare Advantage patients may not have a true advantage. Under pressure: elevated IOP may give immune cells a license to attack. Repeated aqueous humor sampling over three years shows no adverse effects on corneal endothelial morphology.

Too busy to read the Lens? Listen to our weekly summary here! In this week’s episode we discuss: A prospective cohort study in China shows diversified segmental defocus optimization (DSDO) lenses can slow progression of myopia. In a post hoc analysis of the TENAYA and LUCERNE trials, having no subretinal fluid at week 12 after the initial Vabysmo injection in wet AMD is associated with a ~2.5x hig...

Too busy to read the Lens? Listen to our weekly summary here! In this week’s episode we discuss: Machine learning-derived vertical cup-to-disc ratios outperformed human grading for glaucoma detection, supporting their potential role in population screening. Donor diabetes severity was not associated with 1-year DMEK outcomes, supporting the use of diabetic donor corneas without additional diabetes...

Too busy to read the Lens? Listen to our weekly summary here! In this week's episode, we discuss: Preeclampsia and elevated IOP were associated with increased risk of glaucoma development after pregnancy. The tumbling E test identified reduced visual acuity more frequently than HOTV in preschoolers, nearly doubling referral rates and supporting HOTV screening in children younger than 8 years....

Too busy to read the Lens? Listen to our weekly summary here! In this week’s episode we discuss: A single dose of bevacizumab given during trabeculectomy may improve long-term surgical success and reduce the need for glaucoma medications compared with placebo.  A large registry study found that post-injection endophthalmitis is rare but occurs more often after corticosteroid implants and pegcetaco...

Too busy to read the Lens? Listen to our weekly summary here! In this week’s episode we discuss: A national study found that prophylactic 360° cryotherapy substantially reduced retinal detachment risk in patients with type 2 Stickler syndrome, with benefits extending to the fellow eye. Stress tests aren’t just for your heart anymore, but could reveal eyes at risk for glaucomatous progression despi...

Too busy to read the Lens? Listen to our weekly summary here! In this week’s episode we discuss: Use of oral anti-inflammatory medications (cetirizine, ibuprofen, and prednisone) was found to be observationally linked to a lower risk of development of diabetic macular edema and proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Approximately 50% of patients with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy recurred after i...

Too busy to read the Lens? Listen to our weekly summary here! In this week’s episode we discuss: OCT angiography detected glaucomatous progression earlier than OCT or visual field testing, preceding visual field progression by an average of 2.3 years. Living in areas with greater sunlight exposure in Taiwan was associated with a 20% higher odds of POAG and significantly faster RNFL thinning. Dry e...

Too busy to read the Lens? Listen to our weekly summary here! In this week's episode we discuss: Veligrotug infusions show potential for improving thyroid eye disease through improvement of symptoms including proptosis and diplopia  A new cost-efficiency analysis study explores the utility of ambulatory surgical centers in ophthalmology  A 15-year study of highly myopic eyes demonstrated 3D gl...

Too busy to read the Lens? Listen to our weekly summary here! In this week’s issue Children with neurodevelopmental disorders may have a higher risk of amblyopia, strabismus, and myopia. IOP stress testing may predict glaucoma progression. Patients with metastatic melanoma had a higher risk of developing noninfectious uveitis.

Too busy to read the Lens? Listen to our weekly summary here! In this week's episode, we discuss: A study of AI use in 27000+ ophthalmic research articles found substantial evidence of LLM-generated text. HAL spectacle lenses significantly slowed myopic progression and axial elongation in US children compared with single-vision lenses.  Unilateral noninfectious uveitis was associated with bila...

Too busy to read the Lens? Listen to our weekly summary here! In this week’s episode we discuss:  Clobetasol propionate ophthalmic suspension with twice-daily dosing may be a good option for post-cataract treatment. Lacrimal sac massage is an effective and noninvasive approach for addressing CNLDO in infants. In ocular syphilis, acute inflammatory imaging findings are concentrated earlier after sy...

Too busy to read the Lens? Listen to our weekly summary here! In this week’s episode we discuss: Higher dietary intake of B vitamins B3 and B12 is associated with a lower risk of developing glaucoma. Prior vitrectomy may come with postoperative baggage, with a nearly 4-fold higher risk of CME after cataract surgery. Ocular herpes doesn’t affect cancer risk, except in patients with underlying immun...

Too busy to read the Lens? Listen to our weekly summary here! In this week’s episode we discuss… In patients with ROP, neurodevelopmental outcomes do not differ between anti-VEGF and laser photocoagulation treatments. AS-OCT identifies plateau iris, which carries an 11-fold higher risk of progression to angle closure, making it a potentially useful screening tool. Patients presenting with ocular c...

Too busy to read the Lens? Listen to our weekly summary here! In this week’s episode we discuss: Despite a substantial burden of diabetic retinopathy outside metropolitan areas, nearly all diagnostic and treatment services are delivered in urban practices.  Real Architecture for 3D Tissues-Ocular Surface transplantation improved ocular surface disease in advanced aniridia-related keratopathy with...

Too busy to read the Lens? Listen to our weekly summary here! In this week’s episode we discuss: Vitamin B3 may help prevent the progression of ocular hypertension to primary open-angle glaucoma. Patients with chronic pain conditions are more likely to develop dry eye disease. Compared with PRP, PPV may yield better preservation of peripheral visual function and a favorable trend in DME. A smartph...

Too busy to read the Lens? Listen to our weekly summary here! In this week’s episode, we discuss: Long-term, repeated intravitreal anti-VEGF injections were associated with a significantly increased risk of cataract surgery in the treated eye, with risk increasing in a dose-dependent manner. Prespecified OCT interpretation rules, particularly assessment of the TSNIT curve, accurately distinguished...

Too busy to read the Lens? Listen to our weekly summary here! In this week's episode, we discuss: Calm mind, calm eye: mindfulness as an adjunct treatment in non-infectious uveitis See no evil, speak no evil? How reliable are AI-powered smart glasses in providing visually impaired assistance? Tarsorrhaphy may allow for accelerated epithelial healing of corneal grafts in penetrating keratoplast...

Too busy to read the Lens? Listen to our weekly summary here! In this week’s episode we discuss: Ocular inflammation, (along with female sex and treatment interruptions) were significant risk factors for developing anti-adalimumab antibodies, which happened in approximately 1/5th of patients on treatment with Adalimumab. Thinning of the ganglion cell layer/inner plexiform layer and outer retinal l...

Too busy to read the Lens? Listen to our weekly summary here! In this week’s episode we discuss: Myopic eyes with deformities on 3D-MRI had a higher risk of myopic complications over 15 years compared to nondeformed myopic eyes. Former smokers who switched to electronic cigarettes or heated tobacco had a higher risk of developing eye diseases compared to those who quit completely. In highly myopic...

Too busy to read the Lens? Listen to our weekly summary here! In this week’s episode we discuss: Large language models perform well on ophthalmic knowledge-based assessments but are not ready for patient-facing care alone. FOXC1 duplications play an exciting new role in understanding the genetics of JOAG. Children with ROP requiring treatment may face an increased long-term risk of development of...

Too busy to read The Lens? Listen to our weekly summary here! In this week's episode... Patients with obstructive sleep apnea demonstrate decreased macular vessel and perfusion density on OCT-A. FOXC1 duplication is shown to be a high-penetrance genetic variation associated with juvenile open-angle glaucoma. In metropolitan areas, children with retinoblastoma were less likely to receive enucle...

Too busy to read the Lens? Listen to our weekly summary here! In this week’s episode, we discuss: Acoltremon, a selective TRPM8 (cold-sensing receptor) agonist, increased natural tear production in patients with moderate-to-severe dry eye disease in two phase 3 trials (COMET-2 and COMET-3). Handheld OCT appears to be less stressful than traditional binocular indirect ophthalmoscopy for infants und...

Too busy to read the Lens? Listen to our weekly summary here! In this week’s episode, we discuss: Ocular point-of-care ultrasound performed by emergency department physicians does not significantly reduce the number of ophthalmology consults for eye-related chief complaints. Routine glaucoma follow-up appointments may be delayed up to 60 days among patients with mild, stable disease. Those with mo...

Too busy to read the Lens? Listen to our weekly summary here! In this week’s episode we discuss… High-dose Aflibercept holds strong at 2 years for central diabetic macular edema with significantly fewer injections. Retinal disease burden in the United States is vast and unevenly distributed. Retinal imaging may serve as a noninvasive window into microvascular kidney disease. Keratoconus may be und...