Visit-to-visit variability in blood pressure was significantly associated with all-cause mortality independent of mean BP in patients with type 2 diabetes. The data for blood pressure variability might be regarded as a potentially important therapeutic target in the management of type 2 diabetes.

Purpose: To correlate quantitative OCT angiography (OCTA) biomarkers with clinical features and to predict the extent of visual improvement after ranibizumab treatment for diabetic macular edema (DME) with OCTA biomarkers. Design: Retrospective, longitudinal study in Taiwan. Participants: Fifty eyes of 50 patients with DME and 22 eyes of 22 healthy persons, with the exception of cataract and refractive error, from 1 hospital. Methods: Each eye underwent OCT angiography (RTVue XR Avanti System with AngioVue software version 2017.1; Optovue, Fremont, CA), and 3 × 3-mm2 en face OCTA images of the superficial layer and the deep layer were obtained at baseline and after 3 monthly injections of ranibizumab in the study group. OCT angiography images also were acquired from the control group. Main Outcome Measures: Five OCTA biomarkers, including foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area (FAZ-A), FAZ contour irregularity (FAZ-CI), average vessel caliber (AVC), vessel tortuosity (VT), and vessel density (VD), were analyzed comprehensively. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central retinal thickness (CRT) also were obtained. Student t tests were used to compare the OCTA biomarkers between the study group and the control group. Linear regression models were used to evaluate the correlations between the baseline OCTA biomarkers and the changes of BCVA and CRT after treatment. Results: Eyes with DME had larger AVC, VT, FAZ-A, and FAZ-CI and lower VD than those in the control group (P < 0.001 for all). After the loading ranibizumab treatment, these OCTA biomarkers improved but did not return to normal levels. Among all biomarkers, higher inner parafoveal VD in the superficial layer at baseline correlated most significantly with visual gain after treatment in the multiple regression model with adjustment for CRT and ellipsoid zone disruption (P < 0.001). To predict visual improvement, outer parafoveal VD in the superficial layer at the baseline showed the largest area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (0.787; P = 0.004). No baseline OCTA biomarkers showed any significant correlation specifically with anatomic improvement. Conclusions: For eyes with DME, parafoveal VD in the superficial layer at baseline was an independent predictor for visual improvement after the loading ranibizumab treatment.

This study evaluated the characteristic changes in optical coherence tomography (OCT) biomarkers in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) treated with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor drugs and their relationship with visual outcomes at 1-year follow-up in a real-world setting. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 126 eyes with nAMD treated with either intravitreal ranibizumab or aflibercept, including ophthalmologic examinations and spectral-domain OCT at baseline and months 3, 6, and 12 after first injection. Treatment response of intraretinal cysts (IRCs), subretinal fluid (SRF), and pigment epithelial detachment (PED), and the correlation between best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) changes and these OCT biomarkers were analyzed. After an average of 5.1 ± 1.5 injections, 33.3% of eyes with PED showed resolution at month 12, a significantly lower proportion than for IRCs (53.8%) or SRF (51.6%). BCVA improvement at 1 year was negatively associated with PED at baseline and with IRCs or PED at month 12. Persistence of IRCs at month 12 was associated with degeneration morphology of IRCs at baseline and non-resolved cysts at month 3 after loading. In conclusions, IRCs and PED are associated with poor visual improvement in nAMD in a real-world setting. Both IRCs and SRF responded better than PED to anti-VEGF therapy.

Long-term H. pylori infection is significantly associated with high levels of HbA1c and decreased insulin secretion in this Chinese population. Proper screening for H. pylori infection combined with regular monitoring of blood glucose and HbA1c levels might be effective for the early detection of glucose dysregulation and prevention of type 2 diabetes.