Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) held its annual meeting virtually from 1-7 May. The following are a few selected highlights:
Three-monthly AMD treatment
Professor Robyn Guymer, University of Melbourne, presented phase 3 trial results for faricimab, the first bispecific antibody designed for intraocular use in treating neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). The results showed that with 12-week dosing intervals, faricimab met its primary efficacy endpoints of non-inferiority to aflibercept in change in the best-corrected visual acuity, durability and safety. The drug, Dr Guymer explained, may synergistically promote vascular stability and reduce treatment burden through extended durability in patients with nAMD.
VA test for non-communicative patients
Auckland’s Objective Acuity and Dr Christina Ohnsman, an ophthalmologist in Pennsylvania, USA, conducted a pilot study of a novel visual acuity (VA) test for children with CLN2 disease, a form of Batten disease that causes a rapid loss of vision after the child has lost cognitive, motor and language abilities. Traditional vision tests requiring input from the patient cannot be used to measure the extent of vision loss, resulting in lack of natural history data on the range, severity and impact of visual impairment. Researchers evaluated a novel vision test based on an involuntary eye movement reflex that needs no input from the child. The ‘threshold visual acuity test’ proved useful in measuring VA in children with CLN2 disease and is a promising method of testing vision in other populations that are unable to communicate, they reported.
