Diabetic macular edema (DME) is the most common cause of vision loss in diabetic eyes, and due to the rapid rise in the number of diabetic patients, the treatment burden has increased exponentially. The introduction of antivascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy has been a major breakthrough in the management of center-involving DME, replacing laser photocoagulation as the first-line treatment. Despite the improvement in DME treatment with anti-VEGF therapy, persistent DME remains a challenge due to the extremely complex pathogenesis and the involvement of several different biochemical pathways. This review focuses on therapeutic options for persistent DME, which include corticosteroids, laser, and surgery. Novel agents for DME control such as new anti-VEGF, interleukin inhibitor, Rho-kinase inhibitor, and neuroprotective agents that are being investigated are reviewed as well. Future treatment perspectives include an individualized DME management.
Advances in vitreoretinal surgery provide greater safety, efficacy, and reliability in the management of the several vitreoretinal diseases that benefit from surgical treatment. The advances are divided into the following topics: scleral buckling using chandelier illumination guided by non-contact visualization systems; sclerotomy/valved trocar diameters; posterior vitrectomy systems and ergonomic vitrectomy probes; chromovitrectomy; vitreous substitutes; intraoperative visualization systems including three-dimensional technology, systems for intraoperative optical coherence tomography, new instrumentation in vitreoretinal surgery, anti-VEGF injection before vitrectomy and in eyes with proliferative diabetic retinopathy, and new surgical techniques; endoscopic surgery; the management of subretinal hemorrhages; gene therapy; alternative techniques for refractory macular hole; perspectives for stem cell therapy and the prevention of proliferative vitreoretinopathy; and, finally, the Port Delivery System. The main objective of this review is to update the reader on the latest changes in vitreoretinal surgery and to provide an understanding of how each has impacted the improvement of surgical outcomes.
Background
Cat scratch disease is a systemic infectious illness caused by the bacterium Bartonella henselae. The most common ophthalmological involvement due to infection by Bartonella is Parinaud oculoglandular syndrome, whereas the most common posterior segment findings are neuroretinitis and subsequent late macular star. Moreover, other findings, such as retinal or subretinal lesions, intermediate uveitis and angiomatous lesions, may be present.
Case presentation
A 37-year-old female patient with retinal findings and serological confirmation of Bartonella infection was evaluated via multimodal retinal exams. The patient received treatment with doxycycline 100 mg twice daily for 2 weeks. One month after treatment, complete improvement of her visual scotoma symptoms was confirmed. A swept-source optical coherence tomography exam also showed decreases in the size and intraretinal extension of the lesion. Improvement of light perception at the affected area was confirmed by microperimetry.
Conclusions
Bartonella henselae infection, particularly retinitis, can present a variable spectrum of clinical and ophthalmological findings. Multimodal retinal exams can clearly identify lesion characteristics, thus providing important information for diagnosis and the evaluation of lesion improvement after antibiotic treatment.
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