Leber congenital amaurosis caused by mutations in the RPE65 gene belongs to the most severe early-onset hereditary childhood retinopathies naturally progressing to legal blindness. The novel gene therapy voretigene neparvovec is the first approved causative treatment option for this devastating eye disease and is specifically designed to treat RPE65-mediated retinal dystrophies. Herein, we present a follow-up of the youngest treated patients in Germany so far, including four pre-school children who received treatment with voretigene neparvovec at a single treatment center between January 2020 and May 2022. All patients underwent pars plana vitrectomy with circumferential peeling of the internal limiting membrane at the injection site and subretinal injection of voretigene neparvovec. Pre- and postoperative diagnostics included imaging (spectral domain optical coherence tomography, fundus autofluorescence, fundus wide-angle imaging), electrophysiologic examination (ERG), retinal light sensitivity measurements (FST) and visual acuity testing. Behavioral changes were assessed using a questionnaire and by observing the children’s vision-guided behavior in different levels of illumination. All children showed marked increase in vision-guided behavior shortly after therapy, as well as marked increase in visual acuity in the postoperative course up to full visual acuity in one child. Two eyes showed partial electrophysiological recovery of an ERG that was undetectable before treatment—a finding that has not been described in humans before.

Background/Objectives: Macular edema (ME), due to retinal vein occlusion (RVO), is a major cause of vision impairment. Many patients experience suboptimal responses to anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) monotherapy, necessitating alternative treatment approaches. Faricimab, a bispecific antibody targeting VEGF-A and angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2), introduces a novel dual-mechanism therapy. This study evaluates the short-term real-world efficacy of switching to Faricimab in patients with treatment-resistant ME secondary to RVO. Methods: This retrospective study included patients from LMU University Hospital who were switched to Faricimab due to an inadequate response or adverse events related to prior intravitreal therapy (Ranibizumab, Aflibercept, or Ozurdex^TM). All patients completed a structured loading phase of four monthly injections. Key outcome measures included changes in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA, logMAR), central subfield thickness (CST, µm), and intraretinal fluid (IRF) presence on optical coherence tomography (OCT). Changes were assessed from baseline (mo0) to three months (mo3). Results: The study included 19 eyes from 19 patients (mean age 63.0 ± 14.2 years). BCVA improved from 0.20 logMAR at baseline to 0.00 logMAR at mo3 (p < 0.01). CST decreased from 325 µm to 280 µm (p < 0.01). The proportion of eyes with IRF reduced from 100% to 32% (p < 0.01). Significant reductions in retinal volume within the 1 mm and 6 mm (both p < 0.01) circles of the ETDRS grid were observed. Conclusions: Switching to Faricimab in patients resulted in significant short-term improvements in BCVA, CST, and IRF resolution. Given the small sample size and retrospective design, these findings should be interpreted as exploratory and hypothesis-generating. Further studies are needed to evaluate long-term efficacy and optimal treatment regimens.

Background and aim: To analyze the prevalence of ophthalmic manifestations in patients with celiac disease, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis in Munich/Germany. Methods: A total of 272,873 patients of Ludwig Maximilians Universitat Ophthalmological Hospital with eye disease were evaluated between 2003 and 2019. The International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10) of celiac disease Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and all medical records which had the diagnosis of these diseases were analyzed. Results: A total of 272,873 patients were analyzed, with a mean age of 53 years, with approximately 48% female patients, and 51% male patients. We selected 72 patients with celiac disease (68% women and 32% men), with a minimum age of 8 years, maximum of 103 years, and an average of 52 years. The most common diagnoses were dry eye (32%) and cataract (12%). The mean intraocular pressure of patients with celiac disease was 15 mmHg. During the same study period, 103 patients with Crohn’s disease were analyzed, with an average intraocular pressure of 14 mmHg.The minimum age of the patients was 12 years and a maximum of 93 years with an average age of 55 years, with 57% of females and 43% of males. The most common diagnoses were cataract (22%) and dry eye (19%). During the same study period, 99 patients with ulcerative colitis were analyzed, with an average intraocular pressure of 14 mmHg.The minimum age of the patients was 6 years and a maximum of 96 years, with an average age of 61 years, with 36% of females and 64% of males. The most common diagnoses were cataract (29.2%) and dry eye (12%). Conclusions: The main ophthalmological manifestations of patients requiring eye follow-up were dry eye and cataract for all the diseases analyzed, which can be considered as coincident complications. None of the three diseases had increased intraocular pressure. Thus, celiac disease presented a profile of ophthalmological manifestation similar to the other intestinal inflammatory diseases studied.

Objective To analyze the most common ophthalmologic disorders in pregnant women seen in a hospital in Munich in Germany using a big data analysis system, as well as to compare the results obtained with those from other epidemiological studies that used different data acquisition methods. Methods We retrospectively analyzed electronic health records of pregnant women who were seen at the ophthalmology department from 2003 to 2019 at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München hospital. The main complaints that led to ophthalmic consultations