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Chouhan S, Kalluri Bharat RP, Surya J, Mohan S, Balaji JJ, Viekash VK, Lakshminarayanan V, Raman R. Preliminary Report on Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Biomarkers in Non-Responders and Responders to Intravitreal Anti-VEGF Injection for Diabetic Macular Oedema. Diagnostics (Basel) 2023; 13:diagnostics13101735. [PMID: 37238219 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics13101735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2023] [Revised: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE To identify optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) biomarkers in patients who were treated for diabetic macular oedema (DME) with intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections and compare the OCTA parameters between responders and non-responders. METHODS A retrospective cohort study of 61 eyes with DME who received at least one intravitreal anti-VEGF injection was included between July 2017 and October 2020. The subjects underwent a comprehensive eye examination followed by an OCTA examination before and after intravitreal anti-VEGF injection. Demographic data, visual acuity, and OCTA parameters were documented, and further analysis was performed pre- and post-intravitreal anti-VEGF injection. RESULTS Out of 61 eyes which underwent intravitreal anti-VEGF injection for diabetic macular oedema, 30 were responders (group 1) and 31 were non-responders (group 2). We found that the responders (group 1) had a higher vessel density in the outer ring that was statistically significant (p = 0.022), and higher perfusion density was noted in the outer ring (p = 0.012) and full ring (p = 0.044) at levels of the superficial capillary plexus (SCP). We also observed a lower vessel diameter index in the deep capillary plexus (DCP) in responders when compared to non-responders (p < 0.00). CONCLUSION The evaluation of SCP in OCTA in addition to DCP can result in a better prediction of treatment response and early management in diabetic macular oedema.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanjana Chouhan
- Shri Bhagwan Mahavir Vitreoretinal Services, Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai 600006, India
| | | | - Janani Surya
- Shri Bhagwan Mahavir Vitreoretinal Services, Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai 600006, India
| | - Sashwanthi Mohan
- Shri Bhagwan Mahavir Vitreoretinal Services, Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai 600006, India
| | | | - V K Viekash
- Department of Instrumentation and Control Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli 620015, India
| | - Vasudevan Lakshminarayanan
- Theoretical and Experimental Epistemology Lab, School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Rajiv Raman
- Shri Bhagwan Mahavir Vitreoretinal Services, Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai 600006, India
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Tomasoni M, Beyeler MJ, Vela SO, Mounier N, Porcu E, Corre T, Krefl D, Button AL, Abouzeid H, Lazaros K, Bochud M, Schlingemann R, Bergin C, Bergmann S. Genome-Wide Association Studies of Retinal Vessel Tortuosity Identify Numerous Novel Loci Revealing Genes and Pathways Associated with Ocular and Cardiometabolic Diseases. OPHTHALMOLOGY SCIENCE 2023; 3:100288. [PMID: 37131961 PMCID: PMC10149284 DOI: 10.1016/j.xops.2023.100288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Revised: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
Abstract
Purpose To identify novel susceptibility loci for retinal vascular tortuosity, to better understand the molecular mechanisms modulating this trait, and reveal causal relationships with diseases and their risk factors. Design Genome-wide Association Studies (GWAS) of vascular tortuosity of retinal arteries and veins followed by replication meta-analysis and Mendelian randomization (MR). Participants We analyzed 116 639 fundus images of suitable quality from 63 662 participants from 3 cohorts, namely the UK Biobank (n = 62 751), the Swiss Kidney Project on Genes in Hypertension (n = 397), and OphtalmoLaus (n = 512). Methods Using a fully automated retina image processing pipeline to annotate vessels and a deep learning algorithm to determine the vessel type, we computed the median arterial, venous and combined vessel tortuosity measured by the distance factor (the length of a vessel segment over its chord length), as well as by 6 alternative measures that integrate over vessel curvature. We then performed the largest GWAS of these traits to date and assessed gene set enrichment using the novel high-precision statistical method PascalX. Main Outcome Measure We evaluated the genetic association of retinal tortuosity, measured by the distance factor. Results Higher retinal tortuosity was significantly associated with higher incidence of angina, myocardial infarction, stroke, deep vein thrombosis, and hypertension. We identified 175 significantly associated genetic loci in the UK Biobank; 173 of these were novel and 4 replicated in our second, much smaller, metacohort. We estimated heritability at ∼25% using linkage disequilibrium score regression. Vessel type specific GWAS revealed 116 loci for arteries and 63 for veins. Genes with significant association signals included COL4A2, ACTN4, LGALS4, LGALS7, LGALS7B, TNS1, MAP4K1, EIF3K, CAPN12, ECH1, and SYNPO2. These tortuosity genes were overexpressed in arteries and heart muscle and linked to pathways related to the structural properties of the vasculature. We demonstrated that retinal tortuosity loci served pleiotropic functions as cardiometabolic disease variants and risk factors. Concordantly, MR revealed causal effects between tortuosity, body mass index, and low-density lipoprotein. Conclusions Several alleles associated with retinal vessel tortuosity suggest a common genetic architecture of this trait with ocular diseases (glaucoma, myopia), cardiovascular diseases, and metabolic syndrome. Our results shed new light on the genetics of vascular diseases and their pathomechanisms and highlight how GWASs and heritability can be used to improve phenotype extraction from high-dimensional data, such as images. Financial Disclosures The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mattia Tomasoni
- Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Jules-Gonin Eye Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Michael Johannes Beyeler
- Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Sofia Ortin Vela
- Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Ninon Mounier
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Center for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisanté), University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Eleonora Porcu
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Center for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisanté), University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Center for Integrative Genomics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Tanguy Corre
- Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Center for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisanté), University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Daniel Krefl
- Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Alexander Luke Button
- Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Hana Abouzeid
- Division of Ophthalmology, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
- Clinical Eye Research Center Memorial Adolphe de Rothschild, Geneva, Switzerland
| | | | - Murielle Bochud
- Center for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisanté), University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Reinier Schlingemann
- Jules-Gonin Eye Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Ophthalmology, Amsterdam University Medical Centres, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | - Sven Bergmann
- Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Correspondence: Sven Bergmann, PhD, University of Lausanne, Genopode, Lausanne 1016, Switzerland.
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Fayed AE, Abdelbaki AM, El Zawahry OM, Fawzi AA. Optical coherence tomography angiography reveals progressive worsening of retinal vascular geometry in diabetic retinopathy and improved geometry after panretinal photocoagulation. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0226629. [PMID: 31887149 PMCID: PMC6936773 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0226629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2019] [Accepted: 12/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose To quantify vessel tortuosity and fractal dimension of the superficial capillary plexus (SCP) of the macula in different stages of diabetic retinopathy (DR), and following panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Methods 75 eyes of 75 subjects were divided into five groups; healthy controls, diabetes with no clinical DR, non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) and patients who received PRP for PDR (PDR+PRP).For vessel tortuosity, SCP slabs from 3x3 mm macular OCTA scans were processed using imageJ (NIH, USA), where large perifoveal vessels were traced and their length was measured with tortuosity calculated as the ratio between the actual length and the straight Euclidean length. For fractal dimension, SCP slabs were processed and imported to Fractalyse (ThéMA, France), where box-counting analyses produced fractal dimension values. Results We found a significant difference in vessel tortuosity and fractal dimension between the five groups (one-way ANOVA, p < 0.001both). NPDR and PDR had significantly more tortuous vessels and lower fractal dimension compared to healthy controls (Tukey HSD: p = 0.02, 0.015,0.015 and <0.001, respectively). Fractal dimension was also significantly lower in NPDR and PDR compared to eyes with no clinical DR (p <0.001 both), and in PDR compared to NPDR (p = 0.014). Following PRP, vessel tortuosity was significantly lower and fractal dimension was higher in PDR+PRP compared to PDR (p = 0.001 and 0.031, respectively). Conclusions We used macular OCTA scans to demonstrate significantly higher perifoveal large vessel tortuosity, and lower fractal dimension in NPDR and PDR compared to healthy controls. Vessel tortuosity shows more dramatic normalization than fractal dimension and could be explored as a sensitive marker for successful PRP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alaa E. Fayed
- Department of Ophthalmology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
- Department of Ophthalmology, Kasr Al-Ainy School of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Ahmed M. Abdelbaki
- Department of Ophthalmology, Kasr Al-Ainy School of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Omar M. El Zawahry
- Department of Ophthalmology, Kasr Al-Ainy School of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Amani A. Fawzi
- Department of Ophthalmology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Computational assessment of the retinal vascular tortuosity integrating domain-related information. Sci Rep 2019; 9:19940. [PMID: 31882964 PMCID: PMC6934469 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-56507-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2019] [Accepted: 12/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The retinal vascular tortuosity presents a valuable potential as a clinical biomarker of many relevant vascular and systemic diseases. Commonly, the existent approaches face the tortuosity quantification by means of fully mathematical representations of the vessel segments. However, the specialists, based on their diagnostic experience, commonly analyze additional domain-related information that is not represented in these mathematical metrics of reference. In this work, we propose a novel computational tortuosity metric that outperforms the mathematical metrics of reference also incorporating anatomical properties of the fundus image such as the distinction between arteries and veins, the distance to the optic disc, the distance to the fovea, and the vessel caliber. The evaluation of its prognostic performance shows that the integration of the anatomical factors provides an accurate tortuosity assessment that is more adjusted to the specialists’ perception.
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Liu Y, Duan C, Fang D, Liu Y, Xu H, Zheng Y, Xuan Y, Wang L, Ye L, Su R, An M. Protective factors for diabetic retinopathy in Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients: Long duration of no less than 10 years. J Diabetes Complications 2019; 33:107383. [PMID: 31371129 DOI: 10.1016/j.jdiacomp.2019.05.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2019] [Revised: 05/19/2019] [Accepted: 05/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
AIM To study the factors protecting against diabetic retinopathy (DR) in patients with over a decade-long history of type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS A total of 490 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus lasting for ≥10 years were divided into DR and no diabetic retinopathy (no DR) groups. Their basic information was collected, including age, sex, and duration of diabetes mellitus, as well as pertinent laboratory data. Potential correlations between these factors and DR were evaluated using multivariate analysis. RESULTS Overall, 208 patients met the diagnostic criteria for DR. Multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate factors with P < 0.10 after univariate analysis. Age, total bilirubin, and total cholesterol were found to be protective factors against DR. Presence of diabetic kidney disease and diabetic peripheral neuropathy, duration of diabetes mellitus, apolipoprotein B, blood urea nitrogen, and prothrombin time were found to be risk factors for DR. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that total cholesterol is a protective factor against DR. Specifically, it was confirmed that high levels of total cholesterol reduce the risk of DR. These findings may provide a basis for new diet and lifestyle guidelines for patients with diabetes mellitus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanli Liu
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Chunwen Duan
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Dejia Fang
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Yi Liu
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Hanchun Xu
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Yarong Zheng
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Yaling Xuan
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Lili Wang
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Lin Ye
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Rui Su
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Meixia An
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
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Ramos L, Novo J, Rouco J, Romeo S, Álvarez MD, Ortega M. Retinal vascular tortuosity assessment: inter-intra expert analysis and correlation with computational measurements. BMC Med Res Methodol 2018; 18:144. [PMID: 30458717 PMCID: PMC6245828 DOI: 10.1186/s12874-018-0598-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2018] [Accepted: 10/30/2018] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The retinal vascular tortuosity can be a potential indicator of relevant vascular and non-vascular diseases. However, the lack of a precise and standard guide for the tortuosity evaluation hinders its use for diagnostic and treatment purposes. This work aims to advance in the standardization of the retinal vascular tortuosity as a clinical biomarker with diagnostic potential, allowing, thereby, the validation of objective computational measurements on the basis of the entire spectrum of the expert knowledge. Methods This paper describes a multi-expert validation process of the computational vascular tortuosity measurements of reference. A group of five experts, covering the different clinical profiles of an ophthalmological service, and a four-grade scale from non-tortuous to severe tortuosity as well as non-tortuous / tortuous and asymptomatic / symptomatic binary classifications are considered for the analysis of the the multi-expert validation procedure. The specialists rating process comprises two rounds involving all the experts and a joint round to establish consensual rates. The expert agreement is analyzed throughout the rating procedure and, then, the consensual rates are set as the reference to validate the prognostic performance of four computational tortuosity metrics of reference. Results The Kappa indexes for the intra-rater agreement analysis were obtained between 0.35 and 0.83 whereas for the inter-rater agreement in the asymptomatic / symptomatic classification were between 0.22 and 0.76. The Area Under the Curve (AUC) for each expert against the consensual rates were placed between 0.61 and 0.83 whereas the prognostic performance of the best objective tortuosity metric was 0.80. Conclusions There is a high inter and intra-rater variability, especially for the case of the four grade scale. The prognostic performance of the tortuosity measurements is close to the experts’ performance, especially for Grisan measurement. However, there is a gap between the automatic effectiveness and the expert perception given the lack of clinical criteria in the computational measurements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucía Ramos
- University of A Coruña, Department of Computer Science, Campus de Elviña, A Coruña, 15071, Spain. .,CITIC-Research Center of Information and Communication Technologies, University of A Coruña, A Coruña, Spain.
| | - Jorge Novo
- University of A Coruña, Department of Computer Science, Campus de Elviña, A Coruña, 15071, Spain.,CITIC-Research Center of Information and Communication Technologies, University of A Coruña, A Coruña, Spain
| | - José Rouco
- University of A Coruña, Department of Computer Science, Campus de Elviña, A Coruña, 15071, Spain.,CITIC-Research Center of Information and Communication Technologies, University of A Coruña, A Coruña, Spain
| | - Stephanie Romeo
- Servizo de Oftalmoloxía, Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Ferrol, Ferrol, A coruña, Spain
| | - María D Álvarez
- Servizo de Oftalmoloxía, Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Ferrol, Ferrol, A coruña, Spain
| | - Marcos Ortega
- University of A Coruña, Department of Computer Science, Campus de Elviña, A Coruña, 15071, Spain.,CITIC-Research Center of Information and Communication Technologies, University of A Coruña, A Coruña, Spain
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Krawitz BD, Mo S, Geyman LS, Agemy SA, Scripsema NK, Garcia PM, Chui TYP, Rosen RB. Acircularity index and axis ratio of the foveal avascular zone in diabetic eyes and healthy controls measured by optical coherence tomography angiography. Vision Res 2017; 139:177-186. [PMID: 28212983 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2016.09.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 126] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2016] [Revised: 09/22/2016] [Accepted: 09/28/2016] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Given the complexity of the current system used to stage diabetic retinopathy (DR) and the risks and limitations associated with intravenous fluorescein angiography (IVFA), noninvasive quantification of DR severity is desirable. We examined the utility of acircularity index and axis ratio of the foveal avascular zone (FAZ), metrics that can noninvasively quantify the severity of diabetic retinopathy without the need for axial length to correct for individual retinal magnification. A retrospective review was performed of type 2 diabetics and age-matched controls imaged with optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Diabetic eyes were divided into three groups according to clinical features: No clinically observable diabetic retinopathy (NoDR), nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). OCTAs of the superficial and deep vascular layers centered at the fovea were superimposed to form a full vascular layer on which the FAZ was manually traced. Acircularity index and axis ratio were calculated for each FAZ. Significant differences in acircularity index were observed between all groups except for controls vs. NoDR. Similar results were found for axis ratio, although there was no significant difference observed between NPDR and PDR. We demonstrate that acircularity index and axis ratio can be used to help noninvasively stage DR using OCTA, and show promise as methods to monitor disease progression and detect response to treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian D Krawitz
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1428 Madison Ave, New York, NY, USA; New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai, 310 East 14th Street, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Shelley Mo
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1428 Madison Ave, New York, NY, USA; New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai, 310 East 14th Street, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Lawrence S Geyman
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1428 Madison Ave, New York, NY, USA; New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai, 310 East 14th Street, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Steven A Agemy
- Department of Ophthalmology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center and SUNY Downstate College of Medicine, 50 Clarkson Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA.
| | - Nicole K Scripsema
- New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai, 310 East 14th Street, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Patricia M Garcia
- New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai, 310 East 14th Street, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Toco Y P Chui
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1428 Madison Ave, New York, NY, USA; New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai, 310 East 14th Street, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Richard B Rosen
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1428 Madison Ave, New York, NY, USA; New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai, 310 East 14th Street, New York, NY, USA.
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