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Purpose: Children born preterm are believed to be at increased risk of visual impairment (VI). The increased survival rate of extremely preterm children may have changed the spectrum of diseases occurring postnatally. The aim of this study was to analyse the prevalence and causes of VI in an ex‐preterm Danish population during the last 4 decades. Methods: The study was based on the National Register of Blind and Visually Impaired Children (NRVIC). Ex‐preterms born at gestational age (GA) <32 weeks and enrolled in NRVIC at any time between 1988 and 2020 were included. The main cause of VI, the severity of VI and systemic comorbidities were analysed for temporal changes. Results: A total of 335 patients were included. The prevalence of VI decreased from 26/1000 preterm children in the 1980s to 15/1000 in 2000s. Blindness due to preterm birth is almost eliminated affecting 1/1000 today. Sequelae to retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) was the most common cause of VI (51% of cases) in the 1980s but decreased to 34% in 2010s, whereas non‐ocular causes of VI increased from 1% to 36%, respectively. More than half of the children (64%) had combined comorbidities and 36% had isolated VI. Conclusion: The improved monitoring in neonatal intensive care units and management of ROP has reduced the prevalence of severe VI due to ROP and almost eliminated blindness over the last decades in Denmark. However, preterm children are still at risk of non‐ocular causes of VI and comorbidities following the premature delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to evaluate temporal changes in age‐ and sex‐stratified incidence rates of retinal vein occlusion (RVO) commenced in anti‐vascular endothelial growth factor (anti‐VEGF) treatment, proportion of patients remaining in active anti‐VEGF therapy over time, and to develop a forecasting model for future number of patients with RVO in active anti‐VEGF therapy. Methods: This was a registry‐based study of patients with RVO in the Capital Region of Denmark from commenced in anti‐VEGF therapy from 1 January 2007 to 30 June 2022. Census data were extracted from Statistics Denmark for incidence rate analyses and forecasting data of future demographics. Results: A total of 2641 patients with RVO were commenced in anti‐VEGF therapy, of which 2192 were later discontinued. Number of patients rose dramatically during the first years of introduction of anti‐VEGF therapy, after which growth was slower and followed the demographic changes. Trend analyses revealed that the COVID‐19 epidemics impacted with fewer referrals and more aggressive discontinuation practices. Annual incidence of RVO in 2012–2021 was 13.1 per 100 000 (95% CI: 12.6–13.6 per 100 000). Proportion of patients with RVO remaining in active anti‐VEGF treatment was 55.0%, 40.1%, 30.8% and 12.1% after Years 1, 2, 3 and 8, respectively. According to our forecast, number of patients with RVO in active anti‐VEGF therapy will grow slowly but continually at least until year 2035. Conclusion: Our study reports incidence rates and provides prognostic modelling of number of patients with RVO in anti‐VEGF therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. The pathogenesis of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) remains incompletely understood, with no clinically effective treatment for potentially severe complications such as photoreceptor cell death and proliferative vitreoretinopathy. Here we investigate the protein profile of the vitreous following experimental retinal detachment using a comparative proteomic based approach. Materials and Methods. Retinal detachment was created in the right eyes of six New Zealand red pigmented rabbits. Sham surgery was undertaken in five other rabbits that were used as controls. After seven days the eyes were enucleated and the vitreous was removed. The vitreous samples were evaluated with two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and the differentially expressed proteins were identified with tandem mass spectrometry. Results. Ten protein spots were found to be at least twofold differentially expressed when comparing the vitreous samples of the sham and retinal detachment surgery groups. Protein spots that were upregulated in the vitreous following retinal detachment were identified as albumin fragments, and those downregulated were found to be peroxiredoxin 2, collagen-Iα1 fragment, and α-1-antiproteinase F. Conclusions. Proteomic investigation of the rabbit vitreous has identified a set of proteins that help further our understanding of the pathogenesis of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment and its complications.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to describe the rationale and design of Project FOREVER (Finding Ophthalmic Risk and Evaluating the Value of Eye exams and their predictive Reliability). Design: Project FOREVER will build a comprehensive database of clinical eye and vision data collected from ~280 000 adults at 100 optician stores across Denmark. The FOREVER database (FOREVERdb) includes detailed data from refraction, visual acuity, intraocular pressure, corneal thickness, visual field assessments and retinal fundus images. Linkage to the comprehensive Danish national registries with, that is diagnostic and prescribing data permits investigation of rare associations and risk factors. 30 000 individuals over 50 also provide a saliva sample for later genetic studies and blood pressure measurements. Of these 30 000, 10 000 will also get optical coherence tomography (OCT) nerve and retinal scans. This subpopulation data is reviewed by ophthalmologists for disease detection. All participants will be asked to complete a questionnaire assessing lifestyle, self‐perceived eye health and general health. Enrolment of participants began in April 2022. Perspective: The FOREVERdb is a powerful tool to answer a wide range of research questions that can pave the way for better eye health. This database will provide valuable insights for future studies investigating the correlations between eye and general health in a Danish population cohort, enabling research to identify potential risk factors for a range of diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the feasibility of transplanting human neural progenitor cells (hNPCs) to the retina of nonimmunosuppressed pigs, cultured hNPCs were injected into the subretinal space of 5 adult pigs after laser burns were applied to promote donor cell integration. Postoperatively, the retinal vessels appeared normal without signs of exudation, bleeding, or subretinal elevation. Eyes were harvested at 10-28 days. H&E consistently showed mild retinal vasculitis, depigmentation of the RPE, and marked mononuclear cell infiltrate in the choroid adjacent to the site of transplantation. Human-specific antibodies revealed donor cells in the subretinal space at 10-13 days and smaller numbers within the retina on days 12 and 13, with evidence suggesting a limited degree of morphological integration; however, no cells remained at 4 weeks. The strong mononuclear cell reaction and loss of donor cells indicate that modulation of host immunity is likely necessary for prolonged xenograft survival in this model.

Purpose: We aimed to investigate if diabetic retinopathy (DR), glaucoma and/or ocular hypertension (OHT) are prospectively linked, as previous studies have proposed cross‐sectional associations, but longitudinal data from larger cohorts are lacking. Methods: We performed a bidirectional 5 years prospective, registry‐based cohort study. We extracted data from national registers, including the Danish Registry of Diabetic Retinopathy, the Danish Civil Registration System, the Danish National Patient Register and the Danish National Prescription Registry. DR level was defined by the highest level of the two eyes. Glaucoma and/or OHT was defined by diagnostic codes (H40*) or at least three redeemed prescriptions of glaucoma medication (S01E*) within 1 year. We included 205 970 persons with diabetes and 1 003 170 age‐ and gender‐matched non‐diabetes controls. Exposures were level‐specific DR (i) and glaucoma and/or OHT (ii), and outcomes were hazard ratios (HRs) for 5 years incident glaucoma and/or OHT (i) and DR (ii). Results: Persons with diabetes were more likely to develop glaucoma and/or OHT (multivariable adjusted HR 1.11, 95% CI 1.06–1.15), but this did not depend on the level of DR. In persons with diabetes, those with glaucoma and/or OHT were more likely to develop DR (multivariable adjusted HR 1.12, 95% CI 1.03–1.23) within 5 years. Conclusion: In a national cohort, diabetes associated with a little higher risk of upcoming glaucoma and/or OHT, and, inversely, the presence of the latter predicted a higher risk of incident DR. Nevertheless, our data do not seem to justify including glaucoma evaluation in the national Danish DR‐screening programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]