How do you create clear, durable treatment plans for real-world GA patients? In episode 2 of The Nuts and Bolts of GA Therapy, host Charles Wykoff, MD, PhD, joins Hasenin Al-khersan, MD, and Nakul Singh, MD, to dissect real-world cases and discuss choosing monthly or EOM week dosing regimens, engaging caregivers, and reconciling clinical trial data with real-world experiences.

Could optogenetics represent the innovative thinking needed to restore some function in retinitis pigmentosa (RP) patients? Allen Ho, MD, joins us to discuss the state of play in optogenetics, specifically regarding MCO-010 (Nanoscope Therapeutics). What have we seen in the several years since the first patients with RP were dosed with MCO-010 in the RESTORE study? And Charles Wykoff, MD, PhD, joins us to review data assessing the safety and efficacy of sura-vec (Regenxbio/AbbVie) for the treatment of non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy. What do patients look like at 2 years after a single suprachoroidal injection? Listen in to find out.  

How do costs and reimbursements shape practice patterns regarding panretinal photocoagulation (PRP)? Niki Kothari, MD, moderates a discussion with Jesse Sengillo, MD, and Nicholas Farber, MD, about a new time-driven activity-based costing study by Berkowitz et al. The panel explores how procedure time, margins, and CMS reimbursement affect the role of PRP versus anti-VEGF therapy, and reflects on how these financial realities may alter clinical decision-making, practice logistics, and advocacy efforts in retina care.

How do retina specialists first broach the topic of complement inhibition for GA therapy? In episode 1 of this miniseries, moderator Charles Wykoff, MD, PhD, speaks with Maryam Ghiassi, MD, MHS, and Matthew Cunningham, MD, about timing treatment conversations, managing  patients with one good and one bad eye, and addressing whether patients can maintain driving. Editorially independent content, supported by an educational grant from Apellis Pharmaceuticals.

How should retina specialists reframe their approach to GA therapy? In the final episode of this New Retina Radio miniseries, moderator John Kitchens, MD joins experts Margaret Chang, MD, MS; David Eichenbaum, MD; and Ferhina Ali, MD, MPH, to explore how to shift doctor mindsets from restoring vision to preserving it. The panel discusses challenges of counseling without clear imaging endpoints, the role of AI and microperimetry in demonstrating treatment value, and why some providers remain hesitant to adopt complement inhibitors. They also consider lessons from past therapies, tissue preservation as a meaningful endpoint, and how innovation may soon deliver more potent options.This content is editorially independent, supported by Astellas Pharma.

Should GA therapy start monthly—or is less-than-monthly treatment enough? In episode 3 of this New Retina Radio miniseries, moderator John Kitchens, MD joins David Eichenbaum, MD; Margaret Chang, MD, MS; and Ferhina Ali, MD, MPH, to share best practices in real-world GA care. The panel debates dosing strategy in light of long-term data, compares safety/efficacy considerations for pegcetacoplan vs avacincaptad pegol (including first-injection inflammation risk), and offers tips for initiating therapy in monocular patients. They also unpack evidence around AREDS vitamins and early experiences with photobiomodulation.This content is editorially independent, supported by Astellas Pharma.

How do you educate and empower patients to make informed decisions about geographic atrophy (GA) therapy? In episode 2 of this New Retina Radio miniseries, moderator John Kitchens, MD guides Ferhina Ali, MD, MPH; Margaret Chang, MD, MS; and David Eichenbaum, MD, through practical strategies for patient education. The panel covers plain-language analogies for GA, using OCT and fundus photos, coordinating with optometry, and setting realistic expectations for FDA-approved treatments. They also tackle real-world barriers—visit burden, transportation, and costs—sharing tips on benefits investigations, manufacturer portals, and charity-care pathways.This content is editorially independent, supported by Astellas Pharma.

What does it mean to truly keep patients at the center of geographic atrophy (GA) therapy? In this first episode of a four-part New Retina Radio miniseries, moderator John Kitchens, MD, leads a discussion with experts Ferhina Ali, MD, MPH; Margaret Chang, MD, MS; and David Eichenbaum, MD. The panel explores the social impact of GA and highlight the importance of early intervention, imaging, and patient education. Gain key insights into how clinicians can support patients navigating GA’s challenges.This content is editorially independent, supported by Astellas Pharma.

What happens when patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) show suboptimal response to faricimab (Vabysmo, Genentech/Roche) and are switched to high-dose aflibercept (Eylea HD, Regeneron)? Ben Young, MD, moderates a discussion with Pheobe Mellen, MD, and Jordan Deaner, MD, exploring real-world outcomes from a retrospective study of 135 eyes. The group dives into the implications for clinical practice and tries to parse apparently conflicting data regarding anatomic changes. Drs. Mellen and Deaner reflect on their own approaches to treating recalcitrant cases and debate what this paper means for the future of anti-VEGF therapy.

What role does mitochondrial dysfunction play in the pathogenesis of AMD? And could intervention change the course of early disease progression. David Lally, MD, shares results from the ReCLAIM-2 study, the phase 2 trial that assessed elamipretide (Stealth BioTherapeutics) in patients with non-central GA. What positive treatment effects were observed?  And Ehsan Rahimy, MD, reviews findings from a retrospective analysis seeking to understand if continuous glucose monitoring could reduce the risk of NPDR progressing to more serious conditions. Listen in to learn what he and his colleagues found.  

Time flies: Some wet AMD patients have had the Port Delivery System with Ranibizumab (Susvimo, Genentech/Roche) for more than 5 years. How well does vision hold up at 5 years? And how do those numbers compare to 5-year endpoints in injection-based studies? John Kitchens, MD, reviews the dynamics around the PORTAL study, which assessed outcomes after 5 years of PDS treatment. And Krishna Mukkamala, MD, reviews data from a first-ever study validating longitudinal performance of AI-based home OCT (Scanly Home OCT, Notal Vision) compared with human experts. Just how sensitive and specific was home OCT compared with human graders? 

What happens when two systemic diseases collide? In this episode of New Retina Radio Journal Club with VBS, moderator Lediana Goduni, MD, is joined by Alexis Warren, MD, and Joshua Uhr, MD, to discuss a new retrospective cohort study by Rahimy et al. The panel explores how obstructive sleep apnea impacts the progression of diabetic retinopathy and elevates the risk for systemic vascular events such as stroke, heart attack, and death. With nearly 24,000 patients analyzed, the study sheds light on the importance of screening and managing comorbidities in patients with nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy—and raises critical questions about what role retina specialists should play in addressing them.

Anat Loewenstein, MD; Paulo Eduardo Stanga, MD; Patricio G. Schlottmann, MD and Daniel Ting, MD, PhD, pick up where they left off in our previous episode, further exploring the value of setting expectations for patients with GA in nations without wide access to complement inhibitors. They also comment on which therapeutic approaches can be employed now and look toward possible forthcoming treatments. This podcast is part 2 of 2. 

The State of Geographic Atrophy Around the Globe: Part 1 of 2 DES: For what pathophysiologic reasons is targeting the complement pathway a viable therapeutic route for treating geographic atrophy? And which pipeline therapeutic approaches could be useful to patients in the future? Anat Loewenstein, MD is joined by a world-class trio of retina specialists—Daniel Ting, MD, PhD; Paulo Eduardo Stanga, MD; and Patricio G. Schlottmann, MD—for a discussion exploring the state of play in GA from a global perspective. This podcast is part 1 of 2. 

Are patients from lower-income households more likely to present with severe diabetic retinopathy (DR)? Ben Young, MD, moderates a discussion with Phoebe Mellen, MD, and Jordan Deaner, MD, about a new retrospective cohort study from the Duke Eye Center than examines differences in DR severity at presentation between patients from the lowest- and highest-income ZIP codes, explores how income-based barriers to care may impact disease progression, and discusses how this data might affect clinical care, screening strategies, and public health priorities.

What do you do when a patient with GA also has wet AMD? And how do you encourage patients on anti-complement therapy to stick with treatment? In part 2 of this 2-part series, moderator Judy Kim, MD, and panelists Rishi Singh, MD; Deepak Sambhara, MD, and Sunir Garg, MD, examine answers to these questions. 

How tightly should you stick to a GA therapy’s label? Which complement inhibitor do you pick and why? And which candidates are best suited for treatment? In part 1 of this 2-part series, moderator Judy Kim, MD, and panelists Sunir Garg, MD; Deepak Sambhara, MD, and Rishi Singh, MD, explore these questions in a brief (but enlightening) discussion. 

 What conclusions can be drawn from the LIGHTSITE III study examining photobiomodulation for dry AMD? Moderator Barton Blackorby, MD, sits down with panelists Hong-Uyen Hua, MD, and Louis Cai, MD, to examine a recent opinion piece published in JAMA Ophthalmology exploring what researchers can (and cannot) confidently conclude based on the study’s data. 

Duke faculty interview key lecturers from the 2025 Duke AVS Course about their podium talks. Jason Hsu, MD, discusses the best ways to manage proliferative vitreoretinopathy, Majda Hadziahmetovic, MD, shares new data on the effect of GLP-1 receptor agonists on diabetic retinopathy, Aleksandra V. Rachitskaya, MD, explains the value of multimodal Imaging in adults with a history of prematurity, and Gavin Tan, MD, PhD, FRCSed, discusses management approaches for myopic tractional maculopathy and macular holes.

Faculty from the 2025 Duke AVS Course ask key lecturers to share pearls from their presentations. Lejla Vajzovic, MD, discusses various pediatric retinal conditions that can manifest later in life, Jason Fan, MD, explains trends in anesthesia use for open-globe surgery, and Glenn J. Jaffe, MD, examines the role of AI in retina clinical trials.