Retina specialists and researchers attending Emory Eye Center’s 2024 Southeastern Vitreoretinal (SEVR) conference will get a first look at findings from a longitudinal study of uveitis treatment modalities.
That study, “Real-World Data on Periocular vs. Intravitreal Corticosteroid Injections in the Treatment of Uveitis” is one of several presentations that will be made during the conference, March 22-23 at the Emory University Conference Center. Registration for the 36th annual event is open.
Spearheaded by Emory Eye Center medical retina and uveitis expert. Dr. H. Ayesha Hossain, the study analyzed the patient records of more than 150 uveitis patients over a seven-year period.
“In the United States, uveitis accounts for 10 to 15% of all cases of blindness, with 30,000 new cases of legal blindness every year,” Hossain said. “Our goal is to use the data we get from studies like this one to develop better treatment protocols, ones that have fewer complications and will improve vision outcomes.”
Hossain is one of eight retina experts who will be presenting their work at SEVR 2024. Kicking off the two-day event will be Dr. Srinivas Sadda, the director of Artificial Intelligence & Imaging Research at UCLA’s Doheny Eye Institute, who will give the Paul Sternberg lecture, “The Future of Retinal Imaging.”
“As in past years, the 2024 SEVR conference will host case discussions and analyses among attendees,” said conference organizer Dr. Ghazala Datoo O’Keefe. “As researchers and clinicians in some of the busiest eye centers in the southeast, these are the people who are pushing our field forward.”
Hossain’s team is reviewing the study’s data to identify the effectiveness and possible complications associated with regional steroid injections. Currently, two methods are employed. The periocular approach involves the injection of steroids into the area beside the eye. The intravitreal approach goes directly into the eye – through either an injection of steroids or the placement of a steroid implant. Clinicians like Dr. Hossain have been employing these methods for years.
“As a retina and uveitis specialist, I continuously search for the most effective therapies in the management of uveitis,“ she said. “When we first started using injectable steroid implants, it was a big improvement, because previous injections didn’t always last long. They had to be repeated. There have been significant improvements since then, with the implants. We are continuing to watch the data, closely, to see if there will be a shift to even better implants. Ones that last longer and have fewer complications.”
In addition to Hossain’s talk, SEVR 2024 will host numerous case analyses and formal presentations on a wide variety of retina-related topics, including:
- TOWARDS AN IMAGING-BASED DEFINITION OF AUTOIMMUNE RETINOPATHY - Dr. Nieraj Jain
- DIAGNOSIS AND MANAGEMENT OF ACUTECRAO: A CHANGE IN PARADIGM - Dr. Valerie Biousse
- DIAGNOSTIC STRATEGIES FOR GEOGRAPHIC ATROPHY- Dr. Srinivas Sadda
- UPDATE ON TREATMENTS FOR GEOGRAPHIC ATROPHY - Dr. Kevin Ferenchak
- ASE PRESENTATION, IATROGENIC MACULAR HOLE - Dr. Andrew Hendrick
-Kathleen E. Moore