• The AAO is warning the public against two eye color-changing surgeries that are trending on social media: iris implant surgery and keratopigmentation, a laser surgery that inserts pigment into the cornea. The AAO states that both of these surgeries carry serious risks for vision loss and complications and that these risks and complications should be fully disclosed to patients. Patients contemplating these procedures for cosmetic reasons alone must weigh these serious risks against the potential gain. Keratopigmentation, also referred to as eye tattooing, is surgery performed on the cornea itself. Keratopigmentation involves using a needle or a laser to create space in the cornea into which a color pigment is injected, permanently changing the cornea from clear to opaque and covering over the natural iris color inside. The Academy advises that the safest way to change eye color is to find out if you are a suitable candidate for colored contact lenses, which should only be worn as prescribed, dispensed and fitted by a qualified eye health professional. For a list of the potential risks and complications associated with iris implant surgery and keratopigmentation, click here.

• Doheny Eye Institute scientists, working with scientists at UCLA and University of Texas, have shown how a single gene mutation in the enzyme complex that produces the energy used by cells causes Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), a sudden, blinding disease. The mutation affects the cells’ tiny mitochondria. The mystery of how LHON causes blindness is now illuminated: the mutation causes alterations in quantum electron tunneling, which is likely central to many biological reactions and may be key in explaining other human diseases. The scientists also found that that CoQ10 exits the mutated channel a billion times slower than it would in a normal channel. The continuous supply of electrons to Complex I produces excessive rates of electron backup and spillage that generates reactive oxygen species (ROS). This conclusion supports earlier observations that neurons with models of LHON produce near normal amounts of ATP but high levels of ROS, which facilitate retinal ganglion cell death. For more, see the study results here.

• Ascendis Pharma A/S announced the formation and launch with Frazier Life Sciences of Eyconis Inc., a separate company created to develop, manufacture and commercialize TransCon ophthalmology assets globally, together with an investor syndicate that includes Frazier, RA Capital Management, venBio, and HealthQuest Capital. Ascendis Pharma has granted Eyconis exclusive rights to develop and commercialize TransCon ophthalmology products globally and received an equity position in the newly formed company. In addition, Ascendis will be eligible to receive development, regulatory and sales milestone payments of up to $248 million, plus single-digit royalties on global net sales of commercialized products, if any.

• Ocular Therapeutix announced the FDA agreed to a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) Agreement Modification for the company’s pivotal Phase 3 SOL clinical trial of AXPAXLI (axitinib intravitreal implant, also known as OTX-TKI) for the treatment of wet AMD. The SPA Agreement Modification enables the trial to include treatment-naïve wet AMD subjects with visual acuity of approximately 20/80 or better at the initial screening visit. After two aflibercept injections in the screening period, eligible participants would need to gain at least 10 ETDRS letters from the initial screening visit to Day 1 or achieve a visual acuity of approximately 20/20 or better at Day 1, in addition to satisfying other criteria, to qualify for enrollment in the trial. The SPA Agreement Modification also allows the trial to move forward, evaluating AXPAXLI with a single optimized implant with a drug load of 450 µg of a more soluble form of axitinib. This optimized configuration is expected to provide for a slightly increased daily release of the drug and is designed to improve synchronization of axitinib drug depletion with hydrogel bioresorption.

• Prevent Blindness declared February AMD and Low Vision Awareness Month. The group is offering a variety of free educational resources to the public and professionals, including fact sheets and social media graphics in English and Spanish, dedicated online resources and informative videos. To help patients and care partners better understand AMD, a new episode in the Prevent Blindness Focus on Eye Health Expert Series, “Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Low Vision,” is now available. Patients and care partners are also encouraged to download the Prevent Blindness free AMD GuideMe app that works by asking a few questions about the user and the user’s AMD diagnosis. It then creates a customized guide with helpful information, tips, resources and suggested steps to take to be proactive about protecting vision. To support those with low vision, and their care partners, Prevent Blindness is offering the free comprehensive resource, “Living Well With Low Vision.” For more information, click here.

• In a study published in Science Translational Medicine, physician-researchers from Mass Eye and Ear, a member of Mass General Brigham, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard combined retinal imaging, genetics and big data to estimate how likely a person is to develop eye and systemic diseases in the future. They found significant associations between the thinning of different retinal layers and increased risk of developing ocular, cardiac, pulmonary, metabolic, and neuropsychiatric diseases and identified genes that are associated with retinal layer thickness. The team also identified genetic loci associated with retinal thinning, which could help develop personalized treatment plans and future therapies for eye diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration. For more, see the study results here.

Quick Notes is published weekly. Unless otherwise noted, the information presented is based on press releases. Find earlier editions here. To submit a press release to be considered for publication, click here.