Week in Review: Alzheimer’s Treatments and AMD, Ophthalmology Training During the Pandemic, Green Space and Myopia

A weekly roundup of ophthalmic news from around the web.

Could certain Alzheimer’s disease treatments reduce the risk of AMD?  Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs), used to help ameliorate the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), have been found to inhibit certain inflammatory processes. To evaluate whether AChEIs have an effect on AMD-related inflammation, a retrospective cohort study looked at the rate of incident AMD among a sample of patients with AD treated in the Department of Veterans Affairs health care system. Two cohorts of 4821 patients each were studied: one given AChEIs for AD (treatment group) and one not given any AD medications (control). The treatment group had lower cumulative incidence rates of AMD than the control group, and each year of AChEI treatment led to a 6% lower risk of developing AMD. The authors conclude that while AChEIs may have benefit in lowering the risk of AMD, “randomized clinical trials would be needed to determine if there is a cause-and-effect relationship.” JAMA Ophthalmology

The COVID-19 pandemic may have permanently changed ophthalmology training, according to results of a survey filled out by 87 UK-based junior doctors and medical students who completed their ophthalmology placement before, during, or after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020–December 2021). Of those trained during or after the peak period, 55% reported that the pandemic had affected their ophthalmology placement, for reasons that included a reduction or lack of in-person clinic/surgical sessions, shortened placement times, and limited experience in specialist centers. Respondents in these groups were less likely to say they felt adequately prepared to care for patients than respondents in the pre-pandemic placement group. Fifty-six percent of the peak-pandemic group reported receiving online training exclusively, while 85% of the post-pandemic group reported receiving a hybrid of online and in-person training. The long-term impact of these teaching changes remains to be seen. Cureus

The right landscaping at primary schools may reduce myopia incidence. That was the finding from an Environmental Health and Myopia Prevention Control Project substudy, which built upon data from earlier studies showing that more exposure to green space is related to less myopia and spectacle use. The green space inside and around 110 primary schools in Shenzhen, China, was measured, and, concurrently, ocular examinations were given to children in those schools. The overall myopia incidence rate increased by 21.3% between the 2016–2017 and 2018–2019 school years, but a 10% increase in landscaping percentage reduced that 2-year prevalence rate to 1.5%. In students without myopia at baseline, having more green space at their schools reduced the risk of developing myopia by 9.8%. The authors recommend conducting prospective interventional studies “to assess the effects on childhood myopia of the intentional manipulation of green space layouts.” JAMA Ophthalmology

Older patients—especially women—are vulnerable to dry eye syndrome. Reviewing data from a population-based sample of 2095 study participants in northwest Germany aged 62–91 years, investigators found a self-reported dry eye syndrome (DES) prevalence rate of 31.5%, with women more than twice as likely to report DES than men. This is consistent with earlier findings and may be due to higher rates of autoimmune diseases (e.g., Sjögren syndrome) in women. For both sexes, DES prevalence rates were higher in those with co-existing eye disease, especially cataract and glaucoma. Scientific Reports