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  • Central retinal artery occlusion

    Week in review: Vascular risks post-RAO, smoking increases microvascular dropout, new Vabysmo indication

    Comprehensive Ophthalmology, Glaucoma, Retina/Vitreous
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    Having a retinal artery occlusion puts patients at risk for future vascular issues. Five years after receiving a retinal artery occlusion (RAO) diagnosis, patients had a 6.1% higher risk of myocardial infarction (MI), a 10.9% higher risk of stroke, and a 22.7% higher risk of death, according to a retrospective cohort study of records from a US health care database. Ten years after an RAO diagnosis, the risks had increased to 10.6%, 14.6%, and 57.9%, respectively. When compared with a matched cohort of patients with cataract, the RAO cohort (n = 34,874) had significantly higher rates of MI, stroke, and death, particularly at 2 weeks and 30 days after diagnosis. The authors recommend regular systemic follow-up visits for these patients. JAMA Ophthalmology

    Smoking affects the choroidal microvasculature in eyes with glaucoma, say investigators who studied data from a sample of 163 patients (222 eyes) with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) enrolled in the Diagnostic Innovations in Glaucoma Study. Fifty-five patients self-reported a history of tobacco consumption. Choroidal microvasculature dropout (MvD), which is often associated with glaucoma severity, was found in 51.4% of eyes in patients with a history of smoking and 44.4% of eyes in patients with no history of smoking. After adjusting for age, sex, race, and other variables, greater smoking intensity was associated with larger MvD area (0.30 each 0.01 m2 per 10 pack-years) and was more pronounced in patients with moderate or severe POAG (0.47 each 0.01 m2 per 10 pack-years). BMJ Open Ophthalmology

    Vabysmo receives retinal vein occlusion indication. On October 26, 2023, the US Food and Drug Administration approved Vabysmo (faricimab-svoa) for the treatment of macular edema following retinal vein occlusion (RVO), based on positive data from the phase 3 BALATON and COMINO studies. Vabysmo has already received indications for diabetic macular edema and neovascular AMD. BioSpace

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