These results suggest that FoxO1, mTOR, serum IGF-1 and a high-glycaemic-load diet may play a role in acne pathogenesis.

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Introduction: Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) is a noninvasive imaging modality for depth-resolved visualization of retinal vasculature. Angiographic data couples with structural data to generate a cube scan, from which en-face images of vasculature can be obtained at various axial positions. OCTA has expanded understanding of retinal vascular disorders and has primarily been used for qualitative analysis. Areas Covered: Recent studies have explored the quantitative properties of OCTA, which would allow for objective assessment and follow-up of retinal pathologies. Various quantitative metrics have been developed, such as foveal avascular zone area and vessel density. However, quantitative assessment of the characteristics of retinal blood flow remains limited, as OCTA provides an image depicting either the presence or absence of flow at a particular region without information of relative velocities. The development of variable interscan time analysis (VISTA) overcomes this limitation. The VISTA algorithm generates a color-coded map of relative blood flow speeds. VISTA has already demonstrated utility in furthering our understanding of various retinal pathologies, such as geographic atrophy, choroidal neovascularization, aneurysmal type 1 neovascularization, and diabetic retinopathy. Expert Commentary: VISTA, an OCTA flow speed mapping technique, may have a role in developing the utility of OCTA as a screening tool.

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Citation: Ishibazawa A, De Pretto LR, Alibhai AY, et al. Retinal nonperfusion relationship to arteries or veins observed on widefield optical coherence tomography angiography in diabetic retinopathy. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2019;60:4310-4318. https:// doi.org/10.1167/iovs.19-26653 PURPOSE.To evaluate whether retinal capillary nonperfusion is found predominantly adjacent to arteries or veins in eyes with diabetic retinopathy (DR). METHODS.Sixty-three eyes from 44 patients with proliferative DR (PDR) or non-PDR (NPDR) were included. Images (12 3 12-mm) foveal-centered optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography (OCTA) images were taken using the Zeiss Plex Elite 9000. In 37 eyes, widefield montages with five fixation points were also obtained. A semiautomatic algorithm that detects nonperfusion in full-retina OCT slabs was developed, and the percentages of capillary nonperfusion within the total image area were calculated. Retinal arteries and veins were manually traced. Based on the shortest distance, nonperfusion pixels were labeled as either arterial-side or venous-side. Arterial-adjacent and venous-adjacent nonperfusion and the A/V ratio (arterial-adjacent nonperfusion divided by venous-adjacent nonperfusion) were quantified.RESULTS. Twenty-two eyes with moderate NPDR, 16 eyes with severe NPDR, and 25 eyes with PDR were scanned. Total nonperfusion area in PDR (median: 8.93%) was greater than in moderate NPDR (3.49%, P < 0.01). Arterial-adjacent nonperfusion was greater than venousadjacent nonperfusion for all stages of DR (P < 0.001). The median A/V ratios were 1.93 in moderate NPDR, 1.84 in severe NPDR, and 1.78 in PDR. The A/V ratio was negatively correlated with the total nonperfusion area (r ¼ À0.600, P < 0.0001). The results from the widefield montages showed similar patterns.CONCLUSIONS. OCTA images with arteries and veins traced allowed us to estimate the nonperfusion distribution. In DR, smaller nonperfusion tends to be arterial-adjacent, while larger nonperfusion tends toward veins.

Aim of the Work:To evaluate the incidence and risk factors for development of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in the biggest neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Itay Elbaroud City, Behera province, Egypt. Methods: We studied data of 240 newly born infants with gestational age (GA) ≤34 weeks or birth weight (BW) ≤2000 g or infants with unstable course who were admitted to the biggest NICU in Itay Elbaroud City, Behera province, Egypt, between October 1, 2018 and October 31, 2020. There is no standard screening system in Egypt. Furthermore, we had screened babies more than 1500 g, more than 32 weeks and found signs of ROP, so we decided to expand our inclusion criteria to include babies up to 2000 g of birth weight and up to 34 weeks gestational age in addition to older and heavier babies with unstable course in NICUs. Clinical information about perinatal neonates was collected by reviewing medical charts. The main outcomes are the incidence and severity of ROP. The relationship of clinical risk factors and the development of ROP were analyzed. Results: The overall incidence of ROP was 34.1%, and the overall incidence of type 1 ROP was 26.3% of infants. ROP was significantly associated with GA (odds ratio; OR: 6.8; (3.7-12.3), BW (OR: 4.1; 2.3-7.3), apnea, supplementary oxygen administration, and thrombocytopenia. Conclusion:The incidence of ROP is high in Itay Elbaroud city, Behera Province, Egypt. Immaturity, low birth weight, low gestational age, oxygen administration, apnea, thrombocytopenia, and jaundice are important risk factors for development of ROP.

Background The aims of this study were to provide real-life data about the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on the practice of anti-VEGF injections and to evaluate the safety of the modifications in the injection protocol imposed during the ongoing pandemic on the anatomical and functional outcome of patients. Methods All patients attending Tanta University hospital for receiving intravitreal anti-VEGF injections were screened. Patients who were previously deferred according to a modified protocol implemented in the hospital in response to the pandemic or who demonstrated deviation from it were included for further analysis. Results During the audit period, 83 patients attending for anti-VEGF injections were screened, of whom 40 met the abovementioned criteria and were included for analysis. In the deferred subgroup (11 eyes), predeferral mean values of logMAR best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central retinal subfield thickness (CST) were 1 ± 0.23 and 444.57 ± 200.1 lm, respectively. There was no significant change when the patients returned for their deferred injections, with the mean BCVA and CST values being 0.8 ± 0.22 and 413.71 ± 237.7 lm, respectively (p = 0.27 and p = 0.12). Moreover, 29 patients encountered a disturbed injection schedule, particularly skipping their injection appointments due to infection fear as found in 18 patients. ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic has imposed pressing challenges in maintaining essential health care while ensuring the prevention of spread of infection. Although the modified injection protocol confirmed to be safe for patients, the pandemic caused deflection from the optimum practice in the form of successive skipping of appointments and delays in the processing of patient injection schedules.

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