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Purpose: To describe a 41-gauge silicone fine-needle aspiration biopsy (S-FNAB) technique and assess its value in diagnosing primary vitreoretinal lymphoma (PVRL)., Methods: Retrospective review of seven consecutive patients who underwent vitreous biopsy (VB) and 41-gauge S-FNAB of retinal/subretinal lesions in a single tertiary center between January 2012 and March 2023., Results: Of seven patients, S-FNAB confirmed the diagnosis of PVRL in six patients. In five of those patients, both VB and retinal/subretinal S-FNAB (performed at the same procedure) yielded positive results, with the retinal thickness at the biopsy site as small as 231 µm. Four of these five patients had one or more previous negative VB. In one patient, S-FNAB yielded positive results despite a negative VB. Silicone fine-needle aspiration biopsy failed to confirm positive VB for PVRL in the remaining patient. The time from symptom onset to diagnosis of PVRL ranged from 18 days to 26 months. There were no severe complications associated with the procedure., Conclusion: Silicone fine-needle aspiration biopsy might be a valuable method for obtaining a sufficient sample of viable cells to diagnose PVRL. It can be performed as a primary procedure along with VB. Further studies are warranted to determine where this technique could be most advantageous., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the Opthalmic Communications Society, Inc.)

The 'MHC-I (major histocompatibility complex class I)-opathy' concept describes a family of inflammatory conditions with overlapping clinical manifestations and a strong genetic link to the MHC-I antigen presentation pathway. Classical MHC-I-opathies such as spondyloarthritis, Behçet's disease, psoriasis and birdshot uveitis are widely recognised for their strong association with certain MHC-I alleles and gene variants of the antigen processing aminopeptidases ERAP1 and ERAP2 that implicates altered MHC-I peptide presentation to CD8+T cells in the pathogenesis. Progress in understanding the cause and treatment of these disorders is hampered by patient phenotypic heterogeneity and lack of systematic investigation of the MHC-I pathway.Here, we discuss new insights into the biology of MHC-I-opathies that strongly advocate for disease-overarching and integrated molecular and clinical investigation to decipher underlying disease mechanisms. Because this requires transformative multidisciplinary collaboration, we introduce the EULAR study group on MHC-I-opathies to unite clinical expertise in rheumatology, dermatology and ophthalmology, with fundamental and translational researchers from multiple disciplines such as immunology, genomics and proteomics, alongside patient partners. We prioritise standardisation of disease phenotypes and scientific nomenclature and propose interdisciplinary genetic and translational studies to exploit emerging therapeutic strategies to understand MHC-I-mediated disease mechanisms. These collaborative efforts are required to address outstanding questions in the etiopathogenesis of MHC-I-opathies towards improving patient treatment and prognostication., Competing Interests: Competing interests: JCP: Grants or contracts from any entity German Research Foundation grants PR 241/5-2Consulting fees Boehringer IngelheimPayment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events paid activities as a speaker for Almirall, Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen-Cilag, Novartis and Pfizer PK Leadership or fiduciary role in other board, society, committee or advocacy group, paid or unpaid All unpaid: Human Immunology (Elsevier) Editorial Board, Frontiers in Immunology Guest associate, Editor and review editor. Editorial board of International Journal of Immunogenetics SS: all support for the present manuscript (eg, funding, provision of study materials, medical writing, article processing charges, etc. Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) to Jacobs University Bremen DM Grants or contracts from any entity Government of MaltaPayment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events Sanofi, UriageSupport for attending meetings and/or travel Avene, Bioderma, UriageLeadership or fiduciary role in other board, society, committee or advocacy group, paid or unpaid Maltese Association of Dermatologists and VenereologistsIvan IP Payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events Novartis, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Abbvie, Honoraria for lectures, payments directly to me RS Support for attending meetings and/or travel Abbvie and PfizerIna IK Consulting fees Amgen, Boehringer,GSK, SobiPayment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events Abbvie, Amgen. Boehringer, GSK, Janssen, Lilly, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Sobi MvdS Grants or contracts from any entity Novartis, UCB, EliLillyPayment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events UCBSupport for attending meetings and/or travel UCBParticipation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board Novartis, UCB, Abbvie GB Grants or contracts from any entity GSK, PfizerPayment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events GSK, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Abbvie, Aenorasis, Novartis, Lilly IL Consulting fees Novartis, Alimera lT-T Consulting fees AbbVie, Turkey, NovartisPayment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events AbbVie, Turkey FC Payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events LillySupport for attending meetings and/or travel UCB, NovartisParticipation on a data safety monitoring board or Advisory Board UCB, Novartis DMZ Grants or contracts from any entity European Society of OphthalmologyPayment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events Zentiva, Alkaloid d.o.o., Inspharma d.o.o. MB Payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events Pfizer, Viatris, Lilly, MSD TJK All support for the present manuscript (eg, funding, provision of study materials, medical writing, article processing charges, etc). National Health & Medical Research Council GNT2011115Leadership or fiduciary role in other board, society, committee or advocacy group, paid or unpaid President, Australian Society for Medical Research MB Grants or contracts from any entity PFIZERConsulting fees PFIZERPayment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events FRENESIUS KABI, LILLYSupport for attending meetings and/or travel BIOGEN, PFIZER, JANSSEN RJUL Consulting fees UCB, Novartis, Abbvie, Eli-LillyPayment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events UCB, Novartis, Abbvie, Eli-Lilly, Amgen JN All research funding support for the present manuscript: NEI-NIH R01EY033495—research funds and R01EY031383—research fundsHonoraria for lectures: Harvard University, Northwestern University, Massachusetts General Hospital.Support for attending meetings and/or travel: NYU Department of Medicine, NIH-NEIParticipation Medical Advisory Board: ABDA (American Behçet’s Disease Association) DGMcG Payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events Janssen, Abbvie, Novartis, UCB, BMS, Lilly., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Purpose: To quantify retinal microvascular findings in the acute phase of COVID-19 using multimodal imaging and compare them with healthy, age-matched controls., Methods: Hospitalized patients in the acute phase of COVID-19 without known systemic comorbidities (n = 75) and healthy controls (n = 101) aged 18-65 were enrolled in this prospective cross-sectional study. The retinal microcirculation and microvasculature impairments were assessed using fundus photography, swept-source optical coherence tomography, and swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography in the COVID-19 unit and compared with healthy, age-matched controls., Results: Retinal findings were predominately observed in patients with severe disease (P = 0.006). Patients with severe disease were shown to have increased both mean vein diameter (Coef. = 19.28, 95% CI: 7.34-31.23, P = 0.002) and mean artery diameter (Coef. = 11.07, 95% CI: 0.84-21.67, P = 0.044). Neither blood vessel diameters were correlated with any confounding variables (age, sex, treatment with oxygen, LDH, or ferritin). Patients with severe COVID-19 were shown to have significantly increased retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in the superior and inferior quadrants both in the inner (S: P = 0.046; I: P = 0.016) and outer (S: P = 0.026; I: P = 0.014) ring and significantly increased GCL thickness in the outer temporal quadrant (P = 0.038). There were no statistically significant differences in vessel density or the foveal avascular zone area between the groups., Conclusion: The severity of COVID-19 was significantly correlated with the presence of retinal microangiopathy, which could become a biomarker of angiopathy in patients with COVID-19., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

This study aimed to quantify possible long-term impairment of the retinal microcirculation and microvasculature by reassessing a cohort of patients with acute COVID-19 without other known comorbidities one year after their discharge from the hospital. Thirty patients in the acute phase of COVID-19 without known systemic comorbidities were enrolled in this prospective longitudinal cohort study. Fundus photography, SS-OCT, and SS-OCTA using swept-source OCT (SS-OCT, Topcon DRI OCT Triton; Topcon Corp., Tokyo, Japan) were performed in the COVID-19 unit and 1-year after hospital discharge. The cohort's median age was 60 years (range 28-65) and 18 (60%) were male. Mean vein diameter (MVD) significantly decreased over time, from 134.8 μm in the acute phase to 112.4 μm at a 1-year follow-up ( p < 0.001). A significantly reduced retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness was observed at follow-up in the inferior quadrant of the inner ring (mean diff. 0.80 95% CI 0.01-1.60, p = 0.047) and inferior (mean diff. 1.56 95% CI 0.50-2.61, p < 0.001), nasal (mean diff. 2.21 95% CI 1.16-3.27, p < 0.001), and superior (mean diff. 1.69 95% CI 0.63-2.74, p < 0.001) quadrants of the outer ring. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups regarding vessel density of the superior and deep capillary plexuses. The transient dilatation of the retinal vessels in the acute phase of COVID-19, as well as RNFL thickness changes, could become a biomarker of angiopathy in patients with severe COVID-19.

The proposed SARS-CoV-2-induced dysregulation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone (RAAS) system results in endothelial dysfunction and microvascular thrombosis. The retinal plexuses contain terminal vessels without anastomotic connections, making the retina especially susceptible to ischemia. This study aimed to determine the role of selected polymorphisms of genes in the RAAS pathway in COVID-19 severity and their association with the presence of COVID-19 retinopathy. 69 hospitalized patients in the acute phase of COVID-19 without known systemic comorbidities and 96 healthy controls were enrolled in this prospective cross-sectional study. The retina was assessed with fundus photography using a Topcon DRI OCT Triton (Topcon Corp., Tokyo, Japan) in the COVID-19 unit. Genotyping of selected polymorphisms in the genes for ACE (rs4646994), ACE2 (rs2285666), and AGTR2 (rs1403543) was performed. The COVID-19 group was divided into mild ( n = 12) and severe ( n = 57), and then further divided according to the presence of COVID-19 retinopathy (Yes, n = 50; No, n = 19). The presence of the AGTR2 rs1403543-AA genotype was associated with a 3.8-fold increased risk of COVID-19 retinopathy ( p = 0.05). The genotype frequencies of selected gene polymorphisms were not significantly associated with either the presence of COVID-19 or its severity. This is the first study demonstrating a borderline association of the AGTR2 rs1403543-AA genotype with COVID-19 retinopathy in males; hence, the AGTR2 rs 1403543 A allele might represent a genetic risk factor for COVID-19 retinopathy in males.

Purpose: To describe the clinical course and the multimodal imaging of acute idiopathic maculopathy., Methods: Medical records and multimodal imaging including color fundus photography, optical coherence tomography, and fundus autofluorescence were retrospectively reviewed. Recognition of the fundus autofluorescence patterns and their relationship with the disease duration, best-corrected visual acuity, and optical coherence tomography features represented the main outcome measures., Results: Seventeen eyes of 16 patients (7 women; mean age 29.9 years) with a mean follow-up of 23.9 months were included. The mean best-corrected visual acuity at presentation was 0.63 ± 0.54 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (Snellen equivalent, 20/85). All but one patient had the best-corrected visual acuity recovery to 20/20. Four sequential patterns of fundus autofluorescence corresponding to 4 proposed stages of disease were observed. Patterns 1 (central hypoautofluorescence with surrounding hyperautofluorescence) and 2 (stippled hyperautofluorescence and hypoautofluorescence) were found at presentation. Patterns 3 (central hyperautofluorescence surrounded by hypoautofluorescence) and 4 (hypoautofluorescence) were observed during the disease course and/or at the last follow-up visit. Duration of the disease was significantly different between patterns at baseline and last visit. Pattern 1 significantly related to the presence of subretinal detachment (Fisher's exact test; P =0.003) on optical coherence tomography in comparison with Pattern 2. Pattern 4 showed unique homogeneously decreased autofluorescence with corresponding attenuation of retinal pigment epithelium and restored outer retinal layers on optical coherence tomography., Conclusion: A sequential disease staging based on multimodal imaging for acute idiopathic maculopathy is proposed. The recognition of the observed imaging patterns may help clinicians in the correct diagnosis and patient counseling.

Persistent placoid maculopathy (PPM) is a bilateral inflammatory chorioretinopathy characterized by long-standing plaque-like macular lesions. No systemic manifestations have been reported to date. We describe a case of PPM complicated by cerebral vasculitis, suggesting that neurological symptoms, including headache, should be enquired about in all PPM subjects.