Five Things We Learned This Month:

1. Drusen Contain Calcium Spheres Tiny spherules of hydroxyapatite – bone mineral – have been discovered in drusen, and researchers suspect they might initiate and catalyze drusen and basal laminar deposit formation, by providing a scaffold for common drusen proteins to adhere. 2. The First Mutation in Heritable OMS Has Been Found A gene, PNPLA6, thought to be responsible for certain heritable cases of Leber Congenital Amaurosis and Oliver-McFarlane Syndrome has just been identified – and helps us better understand some of the cellular processes involved in retinal degeneration. 3. Up To 15 percent of Patients Are “Poor Responders” to Anti-VEGF A recent study identified one possible cause of poor response to anti-VEGF drugs in the retina: obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Patients with AMD and DME are far more likely to respond poorly to bevacizumab if they also have a high risk of OSA. 4. A Quarter of all Published Articles on Cone Dystrophy are Basic Research This month, The Ophthalmologist benchmarked the last five years of PubMed-listed abstracts on cone dystrophy. We found that 25 percent of all articles were basic research, 38 percent were case reports/ case series, and just two percent were clinical trials. 5. The Best Ways to Assess Postoperative Visual Performance Assessing patients’ refraction following monofocal IOL placement was relatively simple –but it’s a whole different ballgame with the advanced optics of premium IOLs. Florian Kretz shared his tips for optimal assessment.