POAG lymphoblasts in the study cohort exhibited a defect in complex-I of the oxidative phosphorylation pathway, leading to decreased rates of respiration and ATP production. Studies in LHON and other diseases have established that lymphocyte oxidative phosphorylation measurement is a reliable indicator of systemic dysfunction of this pathway. While these defects did not impact lymphoblast growth when the cells were forced to rely on oxidative ATP supply, the authors suggest that in the presence of a multitude of cellular stressors as seen in the early stages of POAG, these defects may lead to a bioenergetic crisis in retinal ganglion cells and an increased susceptibility to cell death.

Signs and symptoms of ocular surface disease are relatively common in older patients, but signs of ocular surface disease are significantly higher in individuals who instil topical glaucoma therapy.

ObjectiveTo provide preliminary evidence for the impact of problem-solving therapy for diabetes (PST-D) in adults with diabetic retinopathy (DR) and diabetes distress.Research design and methodsIn a pilot randomized controlled trial, 40 participants with DR and diabetes distress were allocated to the PST-D or control groups. Diabetes distress (DDS), depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), self-care activities (SDSCA), and HbA1c were assessed at baseline, and 3 and 6-month follow-ups.ResultsAt the 6-month follow-up, the PST-D group showed significant improvements relative to the control group, in ‘regimen-related distress’ (PST-D: −1.3±1.4; control: −0.4±1.1), depressive symptoms (PST-D: −4.3±6.1; control: −0.3±4.6), and HbA1c (PST-D: −1.2%±1.01; control: 0.2%±1.2%) (all p<0.05). In multiple regression analysis, adjusting for baseline values and sociodemographic factors, PST-D was associated with significant improvement in ‘regimen-related distress’, depressive symptoms, and HbA1c at the 6-month follow-up (p<0.05).ConclusionsPST-D is a promising intervention for improving psychological outcomes and glycemic control. A fully powered study is required to confirm these findings and examine mechanisms of change in HbA1c.Trial registration numberACTRN12616001010482; results.

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Peripheral neuropathy is a major consequence of diabetes mellitus with up to 50 % of patients showing clinically significant neural injury during the disease course. Hearing loss (as defined by impaired sound detection thresholds) is a recognized symptom of DM, but the possibility of auditory neuropathy (AN) has not been explored in this population. This pilot study investigated peripheral auditory function, auditory processing and speech perception in individuals with Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and compared the findings with measures of vestibular function, ocular pathology/visual acuity and overall neurologic profile. Ten adults with T1DM and ten matched controls underwent a battery of tests which included: audiometry, otoacoustic emissions, auditory brainstem responses, temporal processing measures and speech perception. Six of the ten T1DM participants showed electrophysiologic evidence of AN and impaired functional hearing. Furthermore, auditory capacity was correlated with both visual acuity and degree of somatic peripheral neuropathy. This pilot investigation revealed functional-hearing deficits severe enough to impact upon everyday communication. Should the findings be confirmed by larger studies, auditory evaluation may form an important part of the management regimen for individuals with T1DM. This may be especially important for those with DM-related eye conditions, as deficits across multiple sensory modalities can have multiplicative detrimental effects on quality-of-life.

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The aims of this study are to investigate whether auditory dysfunction is part of the spectrum of neurological abnormalities associated with Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) and to determine the perceptual consequences of auditory neuropathy (AN) in affected listeners. Forty-eight subjects confirmed by genetic testing as having one of four mitochondrial mutations associated with LHON (mt11778, mtDNA14484, mtDNA14482 and mtDNA3460) participated. Thirty-two of these had lost vision, and 16 were asymptomatic at the point of data collection. While the majority of individuals showed normal sound detection, >25% (of both symptomatic and asymptomatic participants) showed electrophysiological evidence of AN with either absent or severely delayed auditory brainstem potentials. Abnormalities were observed for each of the mutations, but subjects with the mtDNA11778 type were the most affected. Auditory perception was also abnormal in both symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects, with >20% of cases showing impaired detection of auditory temporal (timing) cues and >30% showing abnormal speech perception both in quiet and in the presence of background noise. The findings of this study indicate that a relatively high proportion of individuals with the LHON genetic profile may suffer functional hearing difficulties due to neural abnormality in the central auditory pathways.

Purpose To investigate the effect of topical prostaglandin analogue use on the efficacy of selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) intraocular pressure (IOP) lowering in patients with open-angle glaucoma.Patients and Methods This retrospective study included 123 consecutive patients who underwent 1801 SLT for the first time. Eyes were grouped into those that received prostaglandin analogues before and after SLT (n ¼ 74) and those that did not (n ¼ 49). The main outcome measure was IOP lowering after SLT. Success was defined as X20% reduction in IOP without further glaucoma intervention. Results There was no significant difference in IOP lowering at 6 months post-laser between the prostaglandin and non-prostaglandin groups (3.9 ± 4.8 vs 4.6 ± 3.6 mm Hg, P ¼ 0.43). Long-term SLT success rates were also not significantly different between the treatment groups (Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, P ¼ 0.68). IOP lowering at 6 months was similar in eyes that received no glaucoma medications, monotherapy with or without a prostaglandin analogue, or combination therapy with or without prostaglandin analogues (P ¼ 0.81). Logistic regression analysis showed that various patient characteristics including age, sex, type of glaucoma, previous glaucoma surgery, and other glaucoma risk factors did not predict a successful SLT outcome. However, higher pre-operative IOP was found to predict SLT success (odds ratio ¼ 1.12, 95% CI ¼ 1.02-1.24, P ¼ 0.02). Conclusion The IOP lowering efficacy of SLT is not influenced by the use of topical prostaglandin analogues.