Moharrer M, Tang X, Luo G.
With Motion Perception, Good Visual Acuity May Not Be Necessary for Driving Hazard Detection. Transl Vis Sci Technol 2020;9(13):18.
AbstractPurpose: To investigate the roles of motion perception and visual acuity in driving hazard detection. Methods: Detection of driving hazard was tested based on video and still-frames of real-world road scenes. In the experiment using videos, 20 normally sighted participants were tested under four conditions: with or without motion interruption by interframe mask, and with or without simulated low visual acuity (20/120 on average) by using a diffusing filter. Videos were down-sampled to 2.5 Hz, to allow the addition of motion interrupting masks between the frames to maintain video durations. In addition, single still frames extracted from the videos were shown in random order to eight normally sighted participants, who judged whether the frames were during ongoing hazards, with or without the diffuser. Sensitivity index d-prime (d') was compared between unmasked motion ( = 20) and still frame conditions ( = 8). Results: In the experiment using videos, there was a significant reduction in a combined performance score (taking account of reaction time and detection rate) when the motion was disrupted ( = 0.016). The diffuser did not affect the scores ( = 0.419). The score reduction was mostly due to a decrease in the detection rate ( = 0.002), not the response time ( = 0.148). The d' of participants significantly decreased ( < 0.001) from 2.24 with unmasked videos to 0.68 with still frames. Low visual acuity also had a significant effect on the d' ( = 0.004), but the change was relatively small, from 2.03 without to 1.56 with the diffuser. Conclusions: Motion perception plays a more important role than visual acuity for detecting driving hazards. Translational Relevance: Motion perception may be a relevant criterion for fitness to drive.
Molinaro A, Micheletti S, Rossi A, Gitti F, Galli J, Merabet LB, Fazzi EM.
Autistic-Like Features in Visually Impaired Children: A Review of Literature and Directions for Future Research. Brain Sci 2020;10(8)
AbstractThere remains great interest in understanding the relationship between visual impairment (VI) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) due to the extraordinarily high prevalence of ASD in blind and visually impaired children. The broad variability across individuals and assessment methodologies have made it difficult to understand whether autistic-like symptoms shown by some children with VI might reflect the influence of the visual deficit, or represent a primary neurodevelopmental condition that occurs independently of the VI itself. In the absence of a valid methodology adapted for the visually impaired population, diagnosis of ASD in children with VI is often based on non-objective clinical impression, with inconclusive prevalence data. In this review, we discuss the current state of knowledge and suggest directions for future research.
Moon JY, Miller JB, Katz R, Ta T, Szypko C, Garg I, Lorch AC, Gardiner MF, Armstrong GW.
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Ophthalmic Care at an Eye-Specific Emergency Department in an Outbreak Hotspot. Clin Ophthalmol 2020;14:4155-4163.
AbstractPurpose: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there is growing concern that patients are forgoing necessary care. Emergency departments (ED) represent an important site of eye care. We analyzed patterns of ED visits at an eye-specific ED since the declaration of the public health crisis. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective, cross-sectional single center study, medical records of 6744 patients who presented to the Massachusetts Eye and Ear ED between March 1st and April 30th in 2018, 2019, and 2020 were studied. The primary outcome measures were total volume of ED visits, proportion of urgent ED visits, and proportion of surgical visits. Results: Overall, the median number of daily visits to the ED decreased by 18 visits per day since the declaration of public health guidelines (interquartile range, 9-24, p < 0.001). This accounted for a 32% decrease in the total volume of ED visits in 2020 compared to prior years during the study period (p < 0.001). There was a 9% increase in the proportion of primary diagnoses considered urgent (p = 0.002). The proportion of visits requiring urgent surgery increased by 39% (p = 0.004). Conclusion: The total number of eye-specific ED visits dropped compared to prior years while the proportion of urgent visits increased. Patients were likely more reluctant to seek eye care, deferring less urgent evaluation.
Moustafa GA, Topham AK, Aronow ME, Vavvas DG.
Paediatric ocular adnexal lymphoma: a population-based analysis. BMJ Open Ophthalmol 2020;5(1):e000483.
AbstractObjective: To investigate the incidence, clinicopathological characteristics and survival of ocular adnexal lymphoma (OAL) in the paediatric population. Methods and analysis: In this retrospective case series, the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database was accessed to identify individuals with OAL ≤18 years of age, diagnosed between 1973 and 2015. OAL located in the eyelid, conjunctiva, lacrimal apparatus and orbit were included. Main outcome measures were the age-adjusted incidence rates (IRs) per 1 000 000 population at risk (calculated for the period 2000-2015) and descriptive statistics of demographic and clinicopathological features. Results: The IR of paediatric OAL was 0.12 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.16) per 1 000 000. Males (0.15; 95% CI 0.10 to 0.22) and blacks (0.24; 95% CI 0.13 to 0.42) had a higher tendency for OAL development. A total of 55 tumours in 54 children were identified. The majority were localised (78.4%), conjunctival (49.1%) lymphomas. Extranodal marginal zone lymphoma (EMZL, 45.5%, n=25) was the most frequent subtype, followed by diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL, 9.1%, n=5), B lymphoblastic lymphoma (7.3%, n=4), follicular lymphoma (5.5%, n=3), Burkitt lymphoma (5.5%, n=3), anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL, 3.6%, n=2), small lymphocytic lymphoma (1.8%, n=1), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, immunoblastic (1.8%, n=1) and panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma (1.8%, n=1). Localised, low-grade, conjunctival lymphomas were frequently treated with complete excision with or without radiation, while high-grade and distant tumours usually received chemotherapy. Only 29.1% of paediatric OAL cases were treated with radiation. Three out of five (60%) patients with DLBCL died of lymphoma at a median follow-up of 21 (range 10-86) months, and 1 out of 2 (50%) patients with ALCL died of lymphoma at 23 months from diagnosis. Conclusion: OAL in the paediatric population is rare. The majority of OAL are EMZL and are characterised by excellent prognosis. The histological subtype was found to be the main predictor of outcome with cancer-specific deaths observed in patients with DLBCL and ALCL.
Muhammad F, Wang D, McDonald T, Walsh M, Drenen K, Montieth A, Foster SC, Lee DJ.
TIGIT A2Ar-Dependent anti-uveitic Treg cells are a novel subset of Tregs associated with resolution of autoimmune uveitis. J Autoimmun 2020;111:102441.
AbstractRegulatory T cells (Tregs) are necessary to prevent autoimmune disease. As such, stable FoxP3 expression is required for the proper function of Tregs in the control of autoimmune disease. Different Treg subsets that utilize different mechanisms of suppression have been identified. The T-cell immunoglobulin immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif (TIGIT) is a relatively new Treg cell marker that has a suppressive function. We have previously identified the adenosine 2A receptor (A2Ar) as a requirement for the emergence of Tregs following resolution of autoimmune disease. Using a FoxP3-GFP-Cre reporter mouse, we identify FoxP3 and 'exFoxP3' cells, show FoxP3 and not exFoxP3 cells are suppressive. We further show FoxP3 cells express TIGIT, and are induced through A2Ar in healthy volunteers, but not patients with autoimmune disease. Furthermore, we show Tregs emerge in the target tissue at the onset of autoimmune disease in an A2Ar-dependent manner. In summary, we identify a novel subset of TIGIT Tregs that are induced through stimulation of the A2Ar.