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BackgroundCases of patients with primary intraocular lymphoma (PIOL) were retrospectively analyzed to describe the longitudinal intra-retinal morphological changes in PIOL as visualized on images obtained by spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT).ResultsIn a retrospective case series, Heidelberg Spectralis SD-OCT images obtained in the longitudinal evaluation of patients with biopsy-proven PIOL were analyzed and assessed. The images were graded for the presence of macular edema (ME), pigment epithelial detachment (PED), subretinal fluid (SRF), and hyperreflective signals. SD-OCT scans of five eyes from five patients were assessed. Patients showed signs of inflammation, such as ME and SRF, which were resolved with treatments in some cases. Hyperreflective signals were found in all eyes in the form of nodules or bands across the retina, with the highest frequency of appearance in the ganglion cell layer, inner plexiform layer, photoreceptor layer, and retinal pigment epithelium; such signals increased with the progression of PIOL.ConclusionSD-OCT may be employed to monitor the progression of PIOL. Hyperreflective signals on OCT may correspond with increase in disease activities, along with other findings such as ME, PED, and SRF.

In this work, a 3D printed double‐network (DN) hydrogel scaffold is designed with chitosan (CS) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as the framework matrix. The addition of PVA into the CS‐based hydrogel clearly enhances the mechanical properties and lowers the swelling behaviors of the hydrogels. The crosslinking of CS with genipin can perform the pre‐crosslinking to improve the viscosity and 3D printability of the hydrogel precursor, while increasing the PVA content results in lowering the viscosity and 3D printability of the pre‐crosslinked hydrogel. The antibacterial property results of the DN hydrogel display that the hydrogel have favorable long‐lasting antibacterial ability. The appropriate pre‐crosslinked hydrogel with the CS/PVA mass ratio of 3:10 and pre‐crosslinking time of 7 h is used for 3D printing to prepare the 3D printed porous DN hydrogels. Moreover, the anti‐tumor drug doxorubicin (DOX) is loaded into the 3D printed porous DN hydrogels and the in vitro release study displays the sustainable drug release behavior. And the DOX release from hydrogel scaffold can be adjusted by the pH value of release environment. All of the results indicate that the porous DN CS/PVA hydrogel scaffolds have great application potential for tissue regeneration.

Autoimmune uveitis is a group of sight-threatening inflammatory diseases associated with an exacerbated immunological response to ocular proteins. The Standardization of Uveitis Nomenclature Working Group Guidelines have recommended the use of corticosteroids as the first line of therapy for patients who present with active uveitis. However, long-term use of corticosteroids is associated with numerous adverse effects including cataract, glaucoma and metabolic disorders. In this context, new drugs developed to treat rheumatic diseases, and other autoimmune diseases, are being employed often as monotherapy or combined with other immunosuppressive drugs in order to decrease the corticosteroid burden on patients and to manage refractive uveitis. These drugs are currently being evaluated in the framework of uveitis and may open a new horizon with less side effects and more responsiveness for chronic cases. Among others, calcineurin inhibitor voclosporin, mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitor sirolimus, and the IL-1 trap rilonacept, are among these new agents and will be scrutinized in detail in this chapter. More efficient modes of drug delivery are also being employed to deliver high concentration of drug locally and to minimize systemic side effects. The new modes of drug delivery that we will describe in the index chapter include nanoparticles and iontophoresis.

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Point-to-point change in macular sensitivity can be used as a biomarker of changes in disease activity in patients with maculopathy, and can be more accurate than either mean sensitivity or BCVA in detection of changes in macular function. The measurement variability should be considered when observing the local sensitivity changes.

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