The results of the present pilot study indicate that the components of the food supplement reach the eye in a detectable manner, as evidenced by the effects on the IOP. Moreover, they suggest a short-term neuroactive effect, as indicated by the improvement of PERG amplitude and foveal sensitivity in treated, but not in control patients.

Clinical Trials (CTs) are essential for the advancement of medical research, paving the way for the development and adoption of new treatments, and contributing to the evolution of healthcare. An essential factor for the success of a CT is the appropriate management of its participants and their personal data. According to the current regulations, collecting and using personal data from participants must comply with rigorous standards. Therefore, healthcare institutes need to obtain freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous consent before being able to collect the data. Some of the major limitations of the current technological solutions are the lack of control over the granularity of consent grants, as well as the difficulty of handling dynamic changes of consent over time. In this paper, we present SCoDES, an approach for trusted and decentralized management of dynamic consent in clinical trials, based on blockchain technology (BCT). The usage of blockchain provides a set of features that allow maintaining consent information with trust guarantees while avoiding the need for a dedicated or centralized third trusted party. We provide a full implementation of SCoDES, made available as a self-contained infrastructure, with the possibility to interact with external services, and using Hyperledger as a blockchain framework.

(1) Background: We evaluated macular ganglion cell layer–inner plexiform layer (GCL-IPL) thickness in patients with primary macula-off rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) treated with scleral buckling (SB) or pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). (2) Methods: In this retrospective, observational study, we reviewed the medical records of patients undergoing SB or PPV surgery for macula-off RRD. SD-OCT was performed at three and 12 months after surgery. The central and parafoveal GCL-IPL thicknesses in treated eyes were compared with those of healthy fellow eyes. OCT measurements between the SB and PPV group were also compared using the analysis of covariance. (3) Results: Seventy-one eyes of 71 patients with a mean age of 61.2 ± 11.7 years were included. The parafoveal GCL-IPL thickness of the PPV group was significantly reduced, with respect to fellow eyes, at three and 12 months (p < 0.01). After adjusting for age, axial length, spherical equivalent, RD extent, preoperative intraretinal cysts, duration of symptoms and postoperative IOP, the parafoveal GCL-IPL thickness in the PPV group was significantly reduced with respect to the SB group, both at three and 12 months (F = 11.45, p = 0.001 and F = 12.37, p = 0.001, respectively). (4) Conclusions: In conclusion, the GCL-IPL is reduced in thickness in eyes with macula-off RRD treated with vitrectomy and is significantly thinner compared to eyes undergoing scleral buckling surgery.

Purpose Neurotrophic keratopathy (NK) is a degenerative corneal disease caused by damage of trigeminal innervation. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical outcomes and patient-reported satisfaction of treatment with amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT) or cenegermin eye drops in patients with NK. Methods Clinical charts of patients with NK treated with AMT (group A) or cenegermin eye drops (group B), with at least 12 months of follow-up, were reviewed for demographics, medical history, corneal healing, and disease recurrence. Patient satisfaction was evaluated by a newly developed questionnaire investigating patient’s appreciation of treatment of NK (2 items) and satisfaction with NK treatment outcomes (5 items). Results At the end of treatment, complete corneal healing was observed in 13/15 (86%) patients in group A and in 23/24 (96%) in group B. At 12 months follow-up, 6/13 patients (46%) in group A and 3/23 patients (13%) in group B showed recurrence of NK (p = 0.037). Survival analysis showed that group B remained recurrence free for a significantly longer period of time than the group A (p = 0.028). Patients in group B showed a significantly higher satisfaction when compared with patients in group A (total score: 65.7 ± 15.7 vs 47.4 ± 12.8, p = 0.003), both in terms of patients’ appreciation of treatment (78.3 ± 15.9 vs 52.2 ± 30, p = 0.020) and satisfaction with treatment outcomes (60.7 ± 21 vs 45.4 ± 13.3, p = 0.037). Conclusions Treatment of NK with cenegermin was associated with long-term maintenance of corneal integrity and a higher degree of patient satisfaction.