Week in review: Rheumatoid arthritis and glaucoma, new therapy for macular edema, eye bank update

A weekly roundup of ophthalmic news from around the web.

Having rheumatoid arthritis leaves older adults more vulnerable to glaucoma, say investigators who conducted a study of sample data from South Korea’s 2002–2013 National Health Insurance Service. The study included 2049 patients aged ≥60 years (mean age 67 years) with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 8196 matched controls. The 2-year cumulative risk of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) was 2.4% in the RA group and 1.3% in the control group; the 4-year cumulative risk was 4.3% and 2.6%, respectively. Patients had a 1.83-fold increased risk of developing POAG within 2 years following RA diagnosis. The authors note that while RA is not likely to be directly responsible for POAG development, the study results imply that “the immune complex involved in RA has the potential to simultaneously cause damage to tissues that are associated with the development of POAG including the retina or optic nerve.” JAMA Rheumatology

Suprachoroidal injectable is now available for uveitis-associated macular edema. Xipere, a version of triamcinolone acetonide for injection into the suprachoroidal space, has been launched in the United States for the treatment of macular edema associated with uveitis. Approved by the FDA in October 2021, it is the first treatment commercially available for this condition that can be delivered into the suprachoroidal space, potentially allowing for increased drug availability. Drug Delivery Business News, Ophthalmology Times

Eye bank donations aren’t back up to pre-pandemic levels just yet. However, in the United States in 2021, the total number of eye tissue donors were up nearly 15% and corneas donated were up 17% from 2020, according to the newly released 2021 Eye Banking Statistical Report. Increases in penetrating keratoplasty and endothelial keratoplasty grafts from 2020 to 2021 also were reported. Eye Bank Association of America

Early-stage COVID-19 infection does not impact corneal esthesiometry measurements. In this Brazilian study, 202 patients were given nasopharyngeal PCR tests to confirm or rule out COVID-19 infection, and then corneal esthesiometry measurements were performed following infection diagnosis (mean time 4.2 days). There was no difference in corneal esthesiometry measurements in either eye between the COVID-19–positive and –negative patients. The presence of anosmia and/or dysgeusia in the infection-positive patients also did not affect these measurements. British Journal of Ophthalmology