touchREVIEWS in Ophthalmology – Volume 18, Issue 1

We are pleased to present the latest edition of touchREVIEWS in Ophthalmology. In this issue, we offer a series of engaging editorials, in-depth review articles and insightful original research highlighting some of the latest breakthroughs, innovations and practical insights in the dynamic field of ophthalmology. We begin with macular degeneration, where José-Alain Sahel et al. […]

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the main causes of irreversible vision loss in ageing populations worldwide.1 In 2019, the US recorded 1.49 million people aged 40 years or older with late-stage AMD, reflecting a crude prevalence rate of 0.94%.2 Geographic atrophy (GA), the late stage of non-neovascular AMD, is characterized by gradual and progressive atrophy of […]

Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and diabetic macular oedema (DME) are two leading causes of visual impairment and blindness in the USA.1,2 Faricimab is the first bispecific antibody approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in ophthalmology and was made available to retina specialists in January 2022 for treating nAMD and DME.3,4 The approval of faricimab gave retina […]

Recent advancements in publicly available artificial intelligence (AI) large language models (LLMs) have piqued the interest of the medical community. LLMs are ‘trained’ using massive datasets and can generate natural language text in response to free-text inputs. Conversational agents (chatbots), such as Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (ChatGPT; OpenAI), Microsoft’s Bing AI (Microsoft Corporation), and Google […]

The accumulation of transudative fluid in the suprachoroidal space, known as choroidal effusion, is a prevalent and often asymptomatic complication of glaucoma surgery. Choroidal effusions have also been linked with other aetiologies, including infections, inflammatory diseases, medications and other ocular surgeries.1,2 While choroidal effusions do not typically lead to long-term complications, if particularly large or persistent, […]

Contrast sensitivity (CS), which is an important element of functional vision, helps in differentiating an object from its background. CS affects several aspects of vision, such as acuity, dark adaptation, visual field, motion detection and pattern recognition.1 A decline in spatial CS occurs in several ophthalmic disorders, including cataract, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration. Commonly, […]

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a chronic deterioration and dysfunction of the outer retinal tissue and Bruch’s membrane (BrM). It is the leading cause of vision loss in people older than 60 years and is estimated to affect 288 million people by 2040 with 39 million new cases by 2050.1,2 AMD has the highest economic burden […]

Thyroid eye disease (TED) is an autoimmune condition that can lead to significant visual impairment, facial disfigurement and decreased quality of life. It affects 16 out of every 100,000 females and 2.9 out of every 100,000 males. Risk factors for TED include age, female gender, smoking and radioactive iodine therapy.1 TED typically begins with a progressive […]

The demands for refractive surgery weigh on achieving the best unaided vision postoperatively. This, in many clinics, lines up with achieving a plano or minimal spherocylindrical manifest refraction. However, in my experience, many patients are complaining of blurred vision after refractive laser surgery and yet can still read the 6/6 or 20/20 line on a […]

Dry eye disease (DED) is a prevalent ocular condition characterized by discomfort, visual disturbances and tear film instability due to insufficient tear production or rapid tear evaporation.1 With an increasing global incidence (i.e. up to 50%) and its significant impact on the quality of life, there is a growing need for accurate and efficient diagnostic methods to […]