Familial central retinal vein occlusion

Retinal Vein Occlusions

Retinal vein occlusions (RVOs) are second to diabetic retinopathy in the prevalence as retinal vascular disorder and are characterized by dilatation of the retinal veins with retinal and subretinal hemorrhages, macular edema, hard retinal exudates, retinal ischemia, and consequent atrophy of the retina and optic nerve. They are differentiated into central RVOs and branch RVOs (BRVO), into ischemic versus nonischemic RVOs, and in the case of BRVOs, into intrapapillary BRVOs and extrapapillary BRVOs. Diagnosis is based on ophthalmoscopy, fluorescein angiography, and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. The latter can display the presence and integrity of the retinal outer limiting membrane and of the inner and outer segments of the photoreceptors as useful information for prognosis and a guide for treatment. Risk factors for RVOs are glaucoma and arterial hypertension. Ischemic RVOs can develop iris neovascularization and secondary angle-closure glaucoma. Formerly, therapy consisted of laser photocoagulation in a "grid" pattern over the leaking area, leading to a reduction of macular edema and, as adverse effect, to focal retinal destruction. Intravitreal medical therapy including steroids and vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors shows a marked antiedematous effect leading to an at least temporary reduction in foveal edema and correspondingly improves visual function. Intravitreal medical therapy is associated with the disadvantage of a limited duration of its effect and the advantage of not damaging the retina. A preventive therapy to avoid a recurrence of RVO or the development of an RVO in the contralateral eye has not been proven yet.

Retinal vein occlusion: pathophysiology and treatment options

This paper reviews the current thinking about retinal vein occlusion. It gives an overview of its pathophysiology and discusses the evidence behind the various established and emerging treatment paradigms.

Density of common complex ocular traits in the aging eye: analysis of secondary traits in genome-wide association studies

Genetic association studies are identifying genetic risks for common complex ocular traits such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The subjects used for discovery of these loci have been largely from clinic-based, case-control studies. Typically, only the primary phenotype (e.g., AMD) being studied is systematically documented and other complex traits (e.g., affecting the eye) are largely ignored. The purpose of this study was to characterize these other or secondary complex ocular traits present in the cases and controls of clinic-based studies being used for genetic study of AMD. The records of 100 consecutive new patients (of any diagnosis) age 60 or older for which all traits affecting the eye had been recorded systematically were reviewed. The average patient had 3.5 distinct diagnoses. A subset of 10 complex traits was selected for further study because they were common and could be reliably diagnosed. The density of these 10 complex ocular traits increased by 0.017 log-traits/year (P = 0.03), ranging from a predicted 2.74 at age 60 to 4.45 at age 90. Trait-trait association was observed only between AMD and primary vitreomacular traction (P = 0.0009). Only 1% of subjects age 60 or older had no common complex traits affecting the eye. Extrapolations suggested that a study of 2000 similar subjects would have sufficient power to detect genetic association with an odds ratio of 2.0 or less for 4 of these 10 traits. In conclusion, the high prevalence of complex traits affecting the aging eye and the inherent biases in referral patterns leads to the potential for confounding by undocumented secondary traits within case-control studies. In addition to the primary trait, other common ocular phenotypes should be systematically documented in genetic association studies so that adjustments for potential trait-trait associations and other bias can be made and genetic risk variants identified in secondary analyses.