Are retina doctors seeing more retinal pathology following infection or vaccination? Or is there nothing to see here? Rahul Khurana, MD, joins us to discuss the findings of various health care database analyses seeking to clarify whether COVID infection or vaccination were linked to retinal manifestations. Was there a clear—or even an opaque—connection between the two? And Paul Hahn, MD, PhD, sits down with us to explain how inflation, new realities of reimbursement, and step therapy...

We finally have two FDA-approved treatments for geographic atrophy (GA)—and yet, many retina specialists have been reluctant to embrace them. Join moderator John Kitchens, MD, as he explores this question with Miguel Busquets, MD, and Esther Kim, MD. Further in the episode, they gameplan patient conversations centered around choosing a treatment, ask how heavily to weigh safety when selecting a complement inhibitor, and preview the GA pipeline.

In this episode of the New Retina Radio Journal Club with VBS, Maura Di Nicola, MD; Sruthi Arepalli, MD, and Barton Blackorby, MD, discuss a recent study comparing endophthalmitis rates following anti-VEGF injections with pre-treatment using either 5% Povidone Iodine or 0.05% Chlorhexidine. They highlight how prefilled syringes can reduce the risk of endophthalmitis and explore the implications for clinical practice, including antiseptic protocols, patient sensitivities, and how to navigate...

Tens of thousands of real-world geographic atrophy patients were analyzed in a retrospective database study. How did GA progress—and how do these data inform our understanding of GA? Ted Leng, MD, stopped by the show to share the findings from his research on the natural history of GA, which he recently delivered on the podium in Lisbon. And Michael Klufas, MD, joined us for a discussion about another real-world study. This time, it was a retrospective multicenter outcomes analysis following...

What is the relationship between retinal artery occlusion (RAO) and death, stroke, or myocardial infarction? Moderator Katherine Talcott, MD, is joined by Kyle Kovacs, MD, and Phoebe Mellen, MD, to explore the latest contribution to the literature on this topic. After the break, they discuss how best to manage patients who present to the clinic with an RAO, review academic centers' model for rapidly assessing patients with RAOs, and strategize how best to perform work-ups for patients who...

Could inhibition of C1q effectively halt the progression of GA? Joel Pearlman, MD, PhD, sat down to discuss findings from the phase 2 ARCHER study, which evaluated ANX007 (Annexon) in patients with GA. He tells us what happened when patients were dosed with ANX007 for 1 year—and what occurred when patients stopped receiving treatment. And later, Dimitra Skondra, MD, fills us in on the latest research regarding potential interactions between metformin and AMD development in non-diabetic...

Does switching long-term wet AMD patients to faricimab (Vabysmo, Genentech/Roche) result in meaningful change to disease presentation? Join New Retina Radio Journal Club host Ben Young, MD, MS, and panelists Lediana Goduni, MD, and Josh Uhr, MD, as they break down a recent real-world study published in the literature. After the break, they review whether the study's findings could inform clinical decision-making, weigh the value of anatomic improvement that doesn't result in significant...

The Port Delivery System with Ranibizumab (PDS; Susvimo, Genentech) was shown to be effective for wet AMD treatment. What did the PAVILION study find when it came to treating diabetic retinopathy out to 100 weeks? Margaret Chang, MD, summarized the PAVILION study’s 2-year safety and efficacy findings regarding the PDS in patients with DR but no DME. Plus, Dr. Chang offers her opinions on what it will take for retina specialists to trust the PDS now that the next-generation model has been...

Is avacincaptad pegol (Izervay, Astellas) effective in patients with major ellipsoid zone attenuation at baseline? Katherine Talcott, MD, stopped by our studio in Stockholm during ASRS with a top-line summary of her lecture at this year’s meeting. And Sunir Garg, MD, joined us for a conversation about the GALE study, which assessed 36 months of continuous dosing of pegcetacoplan (Syfovre, Apellis Pharmaceuticals). What did microperimetry findings reveal about long-term dosing with C3...

Patients with DME in DRCR Retina Network Protocol AC were switched from bevacizumab to aflibercept if they met specific switch criteria. Where there any baseline factors that predicted a switch? Moderator Rebecca Soares, MD, sits down with panelists Matt Starr, MD, and Nikisha Kothari, MD, to review this study, ask whether the findings are clinically relevant, and explore other risk factors that may be worthy of further investigation. 

One of the challenges associated with current anti-VEGF therapies for the management of DME is the need for frequent injections and the potential impact on adherence and vision outcomes. Join Dr. John Kitchens and Dr. Maria Berrocal as they share their experiences treating their DME patients using a therapy with a novel mechanism of action, and how those patient outcomes have influenced their extension decisions and treatment management approaches. This special episode of New Retina Radio,...

What did a review of the AAO IRIS Registry reveal about the rates of retinal vein occlusion (RVO) during the COVID-19 pandemic? Moderator Katherine Talcott, MD, sits down with Phoebe Mellen, MD, and Kyle Kovacs, MD, to review the study's conclusion that RVO rates did not increase during the pandemic, discuss challenges about talking to patients seeking causality for an ocular phenomenon, and review the relative strengths and drawbacks of relying on the IRIS Registry. 

Recent studies have proven the therapeutic viability of a different approach in treating retinal vascular diseases. Join Dr. John Kitchens, Dr. Margaret Chang, and Dr. David Chin Yee as they discuss their clinical experiences using a therapy with a novel mechanism of action in patients with nAMD and DME. And, learn how they approach managing patients with macular edema. This special episode of New Retina Radio, and its content, is supported by Genentech USA, Inc.

In the second episode of this 2-part series, moderator Paul Hahn, MD, PhD, and panelists Durga Borkar, MD, MMCi, and Ted Leng, MD, turn to the findings of FARETINA-AMD and FARETINA-DME, which rely on real-world outcomes as documented in the AAO IRIS Registry. What can retina specialists learn from these studies, and how might these studies' findings affect treatment decisions?

Protocol AA might be complete—but analysis of its data is far from over. What did that study’s data tell us about the relationship between leakage and DR severity? Justis Ehlers, MD, breaks down what he and his team uncovered when examining ultra-widefield images from Protocol AA, and helps us understand how machine learning might be used in future retina clinics. And Lisa Faia, MD, explains what her claims database analysis uncovered about the overlap between GA diagnoses and rates of...

How do outcomes differ for RRD patients at risk of PVR following PPV alone or combined PPV/scleral buckling? Moderator David Xu, MD, hears from panelists Barton Blackorby, MD, and Prethy Rao, MD, MPH, about a recent peer-reviewed paper published in Ophthalmology Retina covering surgical outcomes of patients with RRD who were considered high risk for PVR and underwent either PPV alone or PPV/scleral buckling. After the break, the doctors discuss the specific mechanics of a PPV/scleral buckle...

Could next-generation anti-VEGF agents such as faricimab (Vabysmo, Genentech/Roche) and high-dose aflibercept (Eylea HD, Regeneron) be dosed as infrequently as every 20 weeks without sacrificing efficacy? And even if there are data that suggest that finding, would anyone actually adopt an interval that long in wet AMD patients? Philip Storey, MD, fills us in on TENAYA and LUCERNE data that explored, in part, how many patients could theoretically reach a 20-week dosing interval with faricimab,...

David RP Almeida, MD, PhD, MBA; Lisa Faia, MD; and Chris Riemann, MD, return for the second episode in this podcast miniseries, in which they review a trio of real-world GA cases, explore what early responses to treatment look like, and ask how to address GA in the presence of wet AMD. 

Join David RP Almeida, MD, PhD, MBA; Lisa Faia, MD; and Chris Riemann, MD, as they assess which clinical and non-clinical characteristics drive their decision-making in patients with geographic atrophy (GA). After the break, Dr. Faia shares a real-world case from her clinic in which a patient who was lost to follow-up returns to consider treatment.

What conclusions can be drawn from a cross-trial comparison of randomized clinical trials assessing the safety and efficacy of anti-VEGF agents used in the treatment of AMD and DME? Paul Hahn, MD, PhD, sits down with Durga Borkar, MD, MMCi, and Ted Leng, MD, to review a recent presentation by Dr. Leng on this topic, and to examine the clinical relevance of the study's findings. 

Biosimilars in retina are here. How are practices integrating them into their clinics? And how do they navigate issues around payer policy, protocol changes, and ensuring continuity of care?  Moderator John Kitchens, MD, sits down with retina specialist Dave Brown, MD, and Kristin Yockus, the VP of Process Integrations at Retina Consultants of America, to answer these questions, and to preview how the coming increase in biosimilar options might play out in a real-world landscape. 

How do endophthalmitis rates after intravitreal injection differ after using povidone-iodine compared with chlorhexidine? Moderator Sruthi Arepalli, MD, hears from panelists Vaidehi Dedania, MD, and Rebecca Soares, MD, MPH, about a recent peer-reviewed retrospective cohort study on this topic. After the break, the trio discuss how to manage patients who do not tolerate antiseptics, the benefits of visualizing antiseptics on the conjunctiva, and the specific practice patterns that work best in...

Performing surgery for symptomatic vitreous opacities (SVO) was once verboten in retina medicine, but the field has seen a sea-change in mindset over the past decade. In this podcast, moderator John Kitchens, MD, is joined by Edwin H. Ryan, MD; Christina Y. Weng, MD, MBA; and Alison Bozung, OD, to explore why surgery for SVO has become more palatable and how this evolution in mindset is impacting patients' quality of life. 

Do the status of the fovea and/or the timing of surgery affect visual outcomes following RRD repair? Join New Retina Radio Journal Club host Lediana Goduni, MD, as she and panelists Matt Starr, MD, and Joshua Uhr, MD, dissect the findings of a recent paper exploring this question. After the break, the trio discusses tactics for overcoming challenges to real-world conditions when patients present at times when immediate surgery is not an option.