Background: and Purpose There is increasing evidence that the anterior visual pathways are involved in neurodegenerative diseases including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). This study investigated longitudinal changes in retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in patients with ALS and PD with the aim of better understanding their roles as biomarkers of disease progression. Methods: This study recruited 21 ALS patients, 19 age-matched PD patients, and 21 agematched healthy controls. Patient demographics and clinical scores relating to the respective diseases were documented. The RNFL thickness was measured using optical coherence tomography at baseline and after 6 months. Results: At baseline, the RNFL in the superior quadrant was significantly thinner in the patients with ALS than in healthy controls (109.90±22.41 µm vs. 127.81±17.05 µm [mean±standard deviation], p=0.008). The RNFL thickness did not differ significantly between the ALS and PD patients or between the PD patients and healthy controls. At 6 months, there was further significant RNFL thinning in patients with ALS, for both the overall thickness (baseline: median=94.5 µm, range=83.0–106.0 µm; follow-up: median=93.5 µm, range=82.5–104.5 µm, p=0.043) and the thickness in the inferior quadrant (median=126 µm, range=109.5–142.5 µm; and median=117.5 µm, range=98.5–136.5 µm; respectively, p=0.032). However, these changes were not correlated with the ALS functional scores. In contrast, the patients with PD did not demonstrate a significant change in RNFL thickness between the two time points. Conclusions The RNFL thickness is a promising biomarker of disease progression in patients with ALS but not in those with PD, which has a slower disease progression.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the postoperative refractive outcome after cataract surgery between a hospital-based and an outreach-based cataract service centre. Methods: This study was conducted at the Hospital Selayang (HS), Selangor, Malaysia, a tertiary referral centre and an outreach-based cataract service centre (Pusat Pembedahan Katarak MAIWP, PPKM). Data was sourced from the Cataract Surgery Registry (CSR) in the National Eye Database (NED). Results: A total of 2318 surgeries were analysed. PPKM achieved postoperative refraction outcome within ±1.0D in 94.3% of cases compared with 88.4% in Selayang Hospital. Mean absolute prediction error was also better in PPKM (0.39±0.27D vs. 0.33±0.24D, p<0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that the tertiary hospital, persons of Chinese ethnicity, history of uveitis, previous history of ocular surgery and intraoperative complications as significant independent predictive factors for poor refractive outcomes. Conclusion: The outreach-based cataract service centre, which incorporates streamlined process designs and workflows, achieved superior refractive outcomes within ±1 dioptre after cataract surgery compared to a tertiary hospital.

Congenital cataract is a major cause of preventable blindness in children. It can be either hereditary or non-hereditary. In this case series, we present three cases of congenital cataract with a strong family history. The grandparents and parents of these patients had cataract diagnosed in late childhood whilst the patients in this case series were diagnosed with congenital cataract earlier. There was no history of consanguineous marriage in any of the families. These cases show that, in the presence of a strong family history, a child will present with congenital cataract earlier in their life. Hence, babies from such families should be screened at birth and at regular intervals within the first year of life to enable early diagnosis and subsequent surgical intervention to reduce the incidence and burden of amblyopia.