Background and Objective: Limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) is characterized by the insufficiency of limbal stem cells to maintain the corneal epithelium. Severe cases of LSCD may be treated with limbal transplantation from healthy autologous or allogeneic limbal tissue. Multiple cell-based therapies have been studied as alternative treatments to improve success rates and minimize immunosuppressive regimens after allogeneic transplants. In this review, we describe the success rates, and complications of different cell-based therapies for LSCD. We also discuss each therapy’s relative strengths and weaknesses, their history in animal and human studies, and their effectiveness compared to traditional transplants.

Methods: PubMed was searched for publications using the terms LSCD, cell-based therapy, cultivated limbal epithelial transplantation (CLET), cultivated oral mucosal epithelial transplantation (COMET),and mesenchymal stem cells from 1989 to August 2022. Inclusion criteria were English language articles.Exclusion criteria were non-English language articles.

Key Content and Findings: current cell-based therapies for LSCD are CLET and non-limbal epithelial cells. Non-limbal epithelial cell methods include COMET, conjunctival epithelial autografts, and mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs). Moreover, several alternative potential sources of non-limbal cells have described, including induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), human embryonic stem cells (hESCs),human dental pulp stem cells, hair follicle bulge-derived epithelial stem cells, amniotic membrane epithelial cells, and human umbilical cord lining epithelial cells.

Conclusions: Cell-based therapies are a promising treatment modality for LSCD. While CLET is currently the only approved cell-based therapy and is only approved in the European Union, more novel methods have also been shown to be effective in human or animal studies thus far. Non-limbal epithelial cells such as COMET are also an alternative treatment to allogeneic transplants especially as a surface stabilizing procedure. iPSCs are currently being studied in early phase trials and have the potential to revolutionize the way LSCD is treated. Lastly, cell-based therapies for restoring the limbal niche such as mesenchymal stem cells have also shown promising results in the first human proof-of-concept study. Several potential sources of non-limbal cells are under investigation.

The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive and updated overview of the clinical features, imaging modalities, differential diagnosis, diagnostic criteria, and treatment options for Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) syndrome, a rare progressive inflammatory condition characterized by bilateral granulomatous panuveitis and systemic manifestations. While the clinical features and disease course of VKH syndrome are well-characterized in the literature, its diagnosis is challenging due to a broad differential that include infectious and noninfectious causes of uveitis and rare inflammatory conditions, as well as a lack of a single diagnostic finding on exam, laboratory testing, or imaging. The evolution of the diagnostic criteria for VKH syndrome reflects the growing understanding of the disease by the ophthalmic community and advancement of imaging technology. Findings on enhanced depth imaging (EDI) optical coherence tomography (OCT) and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) help detect subtle inflammation of the choroid and were incorporated into new diagnostic criteria developed in the last few years. There is limited research on the treatment for acute VKH, but results of studies to date support the early initiation of immunomodulatory therapy (IMT) due to a high recurrence rate and progression to chronic disease in patients treated with monotherapy with high-dose systemic corticosteroids. This review will provide an in-depth summary of recent literature on advanced imaging modality and IMT to guide clinicians in their management of patients with VKH syndrome.

Background and Objective: Limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) describes the clinical condition when there is dysfunction of the corneal epithelial stem/progenitor cells and the inability to sustain the normal homeostasis of the corneal epithelium. The limbal stem cells are located in a specialized area of the eye called the palisades of Vogt (POV). There have been significant advances in the diagnosis and management of LSCD over the past decade and this review focuses on the pathophysiology of LSCD, its clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and causes.

Methods: Papers regarding LSCD were searched using PubMed to identify the current state of diagnosis and causes of LSCD published through to June 2022. 
Key Content and Findings: LSCD is clinically demonstrated by a whorl-epitheliopathy, loss of the POV, and conjunctivalization of the cornea. The diagnosis of this condition is based on clinical examination and aided by the use of impression cytology, in vivo confocal microscopy, and anterior segment optical coherence tomography (asOCT). There are many causes of LSCD, but those which are most common include chemical injuries, aniridia, contact lens wear, and Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS).

Conclusions: While this condition is most commonly encountered by corneal specialists, it is important that other ophthalmologists recognize the possibility of LSCD as it may arise in other co-morbid eye conditions.

Background: To assess the safety and efficacy of supracapsular implantation with optic capture of the posterior chamber intraocular lens in Chinese children with aphakic after traumatic cataract.

Methods: It was a retrospective case series study. Fifteen cases (15 eyes) Chinese children received supracapsular implantation with optic capture of the posterior chamber intraocular lens. Pre- and post-operative visual acuities were recorded. Intra- and post-operative complications were observed. The follow-up period ranged from 7 to 43 (28.7±7.2) months.

Results: Implantation of optic capture of the posterior chamber intraocular lens was successfully performed in 15 eyes. The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) ranged from 0.3 to 1.0 (0.61±0.19). No optic axis opaque was found in 15 eyes with optic capture. The major complications of optic capture were iris posterior synechia and intraocular lens (IOL) precipitates. Intraocular dislocation was found in one case three weeks after the operation.

Conclusions: Supracapsular implantation with optic capture of the posterior chamber intraocular lens is safe and effective for the treatment of traumatic cataract in Chinese children.

Abstract: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a proliferative disorder of the developing retina in premature and low birth weight infants. Recently, the role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the pathophysiology of ROP has been well studied and anti-VEGF drugs have been used in phase 2 to treat ROP patients in many ways. At first, ophthalmologists began to give intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) or ranibizumab off-label to treat ROP as a salvage treatment after failure in laser photocoagulation or in combination with laser as an adjuvant treatment for patients had media opacity or rigid pupil. Now anti-VEGF drugs are also used as monotherapy in type I ROP or perioperative use in stage 4/5 ROP. Questions remain regarding long-term safety, dose, timing, visual outcomes and long-term effects, including systemically.

Abstract: Cataract surgery is arguably the most commonly performed operation in ophthalmology. Surgical skills transfer from experienced surgeons to resident surgeons is complicated by the fact that the teaching surgeon primarily acts as an observer rather than directly performing the procedure. Therefore, wet lab and simulator training are utilized to reduce the learning curve of the novice surgeons, which establishes tissue awareness, dexterity and muscle memory required to perform each step of the procedure, safely. Access to a wet lab and simulator environment is accomplished by establishing a surgical training curriculum in residency programs. In the operating room, topical anesthesia is a safe alternative for teaching cataract surgery. There are three well-described approaches to teaching individual steps of cataract surgery: forward, “backwards”, and deconstructed step-by-step instruction. Simulator training can be incorporated prior to live patient experience or integrated concurrently with learner presence in the operating room. The trend towards a competency-based instruction model has necessitated appropriate evaluation tools that include Objective Assessment of Skills in Intraocular Surgery (OASIS), Global Rating Assessment of Skills in Intraocular Surgery (GRASIS), and the International Council of Ophthalmology’s Ophthalmology Surgical Competency Assessment Rubrics (ICO-OSCAR). We review the literature on trends in surgical teaching in ophthalmology, with the focus on cataract surgery instruction to the novice surgeon.

Abstract: We reviewed randomized controlled trials associated with the intravitreal use of aflibercept for this article. These studies proved that aflibercept is an effective anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agent for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), myopic choroidal neovascularization (mCNV), diabetic macular edema (DME), and macular edema associated with retinal vein occlusion. The incidence of severe ocular or systemic complications after intravitreal administration of aflibercept was low.