Coordinates: 40°43′58″N 73°59′03″W / 40.732758°N 73.984283°W / 40.732758; -73.984283New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai (NYEE) is located at East 14th Street and Second Avenue in lower Manhattan, New York City. Founded on August 14, 1820, NYEE is America's first specialty hospital and one of the most prominent in the fields of ophthalmology and otolaryngology in the world, providing primary inpatient and outpatient care in those specialties. Previously affiliated with New York Medical College, as of 2013 it is affiliated with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai as a part of the membership in the Mount Sinai Health System..
Background: Given global population growth and aging, it is imperative to prioritize early eye disease detection and treatment. However, as patient volume increases, providers are facing a shortage of workforce capacity, particularly in areas where eye doctors are already scarce, making it important to consider alternative innovative solutions that could help increase eye screening capabilities. This study compared virtual reality (VR) platform of vision screening exams that are used to evaluate ocular health, such as 24-2 perimetry, Ishihara tiles, and the Amsler grid, against their in-clinic counterparts. Methods: A total of 86 subjects were recruited from Mount Sinai’s ophthalmology clinic (New York, USA) for a comparison trial that was internally controlled across healthy eyes and those with glaucoma and retinal diseases. VR and in-office tests were administered to the patients during their clinical visit, including 24-2 perimetry, Ishihara tiles, and the Amsler grid in a randomized order, and the results were compared for each test. Results: Perimetry results from Humphrey Visual Field Analyzer (HVFA) and VR suprathreshold testing demonstrated a good sensitivity both overall (80% OD, 84% OS) and across control (86% OD, 89% OS), glaucoma (69% OD, 78% OS), and retinal disease (76% OD, 80% OS) groups. A Garway-Heath anatomical map showed an overall 70–80% agreement. Ishihara plate tests did not show a significant difference between the two testing modalities (p = 0.12; Mann–Whitney U test), which remained true across all groups. Amsler grid testing differences were also non-significant within each subgroup (p = 0.81; Mann–Whitney U test). Patient time required to complete VR exams was significantly improved (p < 0.0001; Welch’s t-test) compared to the clinical standard tests. Conclusions: All VR-based exams tested in this study showed high sensitivity and percent agreement when compared to their in-office standards. Given the results of this study, VR has a promising potential in visual function screening, which, in addition to its portable design and easy use, could assist eye doctors in screening for prevalent diseases such as glaucoma and retinal conditions. Translational Relevance: VR-based vision exams that test vision fields, color vision and visual distortions provide comparable results in healthy patients, as well as those with glaucoma and retinal diseases, indicating its potential as a screening technology for different ocular pathologies. Given VR’s portable and low-profile features, it is important to consider leveraging VR to augment delivery of vision care.
Purpose: To evaluate whether vitamin B 12 deficiency with elevated homocysteine is associated with increased risk of retinal vein occlusion (RVO). Methods : A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the TriNetX US Collaborative Network (August 2005—August 2025). Adults (≥18 years) with vitamin B 12 deficiency (International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision code D51.0-D51.9) and hyperhomocysteinemia (>15.00 µmol/L) were matched in a 1:1 ratio to controls without B 12 deficiency and with homocysteine status unrestricted, using propensity scores for age, sex, race, ethnicity, body mass index, hypertension, diabetes, ischemic heart disease, and nicotine dependence. Patients with pre-index RVO were excluded. The primary outcome was incident RVO (central or branch) over 10 years, analyzed with risk ratios, odds ratios, hazard ratios, and Kaplan-Meier cumulative incidence curves. Results : After matching and exclusion of patients with prior RVO, 10 161 individuals were included (5070 with B 12 deficiency and hyperhomocysteinemia, 5091 controls). The cohorts were well-balanced across demographics and comorbidities. Incident RVO occurred in 32 patients (0.63%) with B 12 deficiency and hyperhomocysteinemia compared with 15 patients (0.29%) among the control group, corresponding to a statistically significant increased risk (risk ratio, 2.142 [95% CI, 1.162-3.951]; odds ratio, 2.149 [95% CI, 1.163-3.974]; both P = .012). Kaplan-Meier curves demonstrated a higher cumulative incidence of RVO in the B 12 deficiency and hyperhomocysteinemia cohort (log-rank χ² = 7.551, P = .006; hazard ratio, 2.306 [95% CI, 1.249-4.260]). Conclusions : Vitamin B 12 deficiency with hyperhomocysteinemia was associated with an increased RVO risk. These findings highlight a modifiable risk factor, and prospective studies are needed to assess causality and evaluate whether correction of vitamin B 12 deficiency or hyperhomocysteinemia reduces RVO risk.
Background and Objective Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a vascular disease that may affect the retina. This study aimed to evaluate differences in average velocity (AV, mm/s), blood flow (BF, μL/min) and vessel diameter (VD, μm) from the temporal retinal arcades in SCD compared to healthy eyes using Doppler optical coherence tomography (DOCT). Patients and Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted between 2021 and 2023. The DOCT scan was located at the superior and inferior temporal vessel arcades of all subjects. Differences between the two groups were assessed. Results Thirty-nine healthy eyes and 36 SCD eyes were imaged. The median of AV, BF, and VD were 1.4, 2.5, and 1.3 times higher in SCD eyes compared to healthy eyes in the superotemporal arteries ( P = 0.002, P = 5.0 × 10–3, P = 4.0 × 10–6, respectively). Similar findings were observed for superotemporal veins and inferotemporal veins. Conclusion Eyes with SCD eyes exhibited significantly elevated retinal vascular flow parameters compared to healthy eyes. [ Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina 2025;56:XX–XX.]
Chronic scleritis poses a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge with multiple mimickers, underlying autoimmune conditions, diverse presentations and variable course. Treatment for mild forms includes topical corticosteroids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). For long-term control in patients with inadequate responses to steroids and NSAIDs, immunomodulators are employed. While oral cyclosporine has been used for inflammatory ocular conditions, research on topical cyclosporine for scleritis is limited. We present two cases: a man in his early 60s and a women in her late 20s, both with chronic, bilateral, intrapalpebral nodular scleritis with the clinical appearance of an inflamed pinguecula. After an initial poor response to conventional treatments, both patients responded positively to cyclosporine 0.05% ophthalmic emulsion as long-term monotherapy, likely due to cyclosporine's inhibitory effects. These outcomes suggest topical cyclosporine as an effective additive therapy to steroids to maintain quiescence for this particular subset of nodular scleritis, especially when traditional therapies are inadequate.
