Effective drug delivery to intraocular tissues remains a great challenge due to complex anatomical and physiological barriers that selectively limit the entry of drugs into the eye. To overcome these challenges, frequent topical application and regular intravitreal injections are currently used to achieve the desired drug concentrations into the eye. However, the repetitive installation or recurrent injections may result in several side effects. Recent advancements in the field of nanoparticle-based drug delivery have demonstrated promising results for topical ophthalmic nanotherapies in the treatment of intraocular diseases. Studies have revealed that nanocarriers enhance the intraocular half-life and bioavailability of several therapies including proteins, peptides and genetic material. Amongst the array of nanoparticles available nowadays, lipid-based nanosystems have shown an increased efficiency and feasibility in topical formulations, making them an important target for constant and thorough research in both preclinical and clinical practice. In this review, we will cover the promising lipid-based nanocarriers used in topical ophthalmic formulations for intraocular drug delivery.

Oxidative stress represents one of the main factors driving the pathophysiology of multiple ophthalmic conditions including presbyopia, cataracts, dry eye disease (DED), glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy (DR). Currently, different studies have demonstrated the role of orally administered nutraceuticals in these diseases. For instance, they have demonstrated to improve lens accommodation in presbyopia, reduce protein aggregation in cataracts, ameliorate tear film stability, break up time, and tear production in dry eye, and participate in the avoidance of retinal neuronal damage and a decrease in intraocular pressure in glaucoma, contribute to the delayed progression of AMD, or in the prevention or treatment of neuronal death in diabetic retinopathy. In this review, we summarized the nutraceuticals which have presented a positive impact in ocular disorders, emphasizing the clinical assays. The characteristics of the different types of nutraceuticals are specified along with the nutraceutical concentration used to achieve a therapeutic outcome in ocular diseases.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the high prevalence of comorbidities and the disparities between the public and private health subsystems in Mexico substantially contributed to the severe impact of the disease. The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the risk factors at admission for in-hospital mortality of patients with COVID-19. A 2-year retrospective cohort study of hospitalized adult patients with COVID-19 pneumonia was conducted at a private tertiary care center. The study population consisted of 1258 patients with a median age of 56 ± 16.5 years, of whom 1093 recovered (86.8%) and 165 died (13.1%). In the univariate analysis, older age (p < 0.001), comorbidities such as hypertension (p < 0.001) and diabetes (p < 0.001), signs and symptoms of respiratory distress, and markers of acute inflammatory response were significantly more frequent in non-survivors. The multivariate analysis showed that older age (p < 0.001), the presence of cyanosis (p = 0.005), and previous myocardial infarction (p = 0.032) were independent predictors of mortality. In the studied cohort, the risk factors present at admission associated with increased mortality were older age, cyanosis, and a previous myocardial infarction, which can be used as valuable predictors for patients’ outcomes. To our knowledge, this is the first study analyzing predictors of mortality in COVID-19 patients attended in a private tertiary hospital in Mexico.

EOS) y los tiempos de exposición a pantallas al inicio de cursos en línea, y comparar estos cambios entre sexos. Secundariamente, correlacionar los tiempos de exposición con la gravedad de los síntomas. Método: Se aplicaron cuatro encuestas idénticas durante 6 semanas, las cuales contenían el Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) que cuantifica la gravedad de los síntomas de EOS y preguntas sobre tiempos de exposición a pantallas. Se incluyeron universitarios que transicionaron de cursos presenciales a plataformas en línea. Resultados: La frecuencia de EOS entre los 97 participantes (54 mujeres y 43 hombres) alcanzó su máximo en la semana 4 (82.47%). Las puntuaciones OSDI aumentaron significativamente (p < 0.0001) entre la situación basal (27.01 ± 17.55) y la semana 6 (37.17 ± 24.64), reflejando un empeoramiento sintomatológico y una incidencia del 8.5%. Este empeoramiento se observó en las mujeres (p < 0.0001), pero no en los hombres (p = 0.11); se encontraron diferencias significativas entre sexos en la situación basal (p = 0.01), la semana 2 (p = 0.02) y la semana 6 (p = 0.008), pero no en la semana 4 (p = 0.11). El inicio de los cursos en línea aumentó el tiempo frente a la pantalla (p < 0.0001). Las horas basales fueron 25.52 ± 11.33 y alcanzaron su máximo en la semana 2, con 34.62 ± 10.90 horas. Las puntuaciones OSDI y los tiempos de exposición de los cursos en línea se correlacionaron significativamente (semana 2, R = 0.265; semana 4, R = 0.262; semana 6, R = 0.205). Conclusiones: Los universitarios sufren síntomas graves de EOS que se correlacionaron con el inicio de los cursos en línea. Las instituciones educativas deberían fomentar la salud ocular.

Objectives:The association between TGF-β1 and Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG) has been scarcely studied. The aim of this study was to explore the association between functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the TGF-β1 gene; −509C/T (rs1800469), −800G/A (rs1800468), and +915G/C (rs1800471) with POAG in a Mexican population. Methods: The SNPs were genotyped by Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction. Allelic, genotypic, haplotypic, and model-based (dominant, recessive, codominant and overdominant) associations of the SNPs with POAG were analyzed with Chi-square test and logistic regression. Results: 237 non-related Mexican subjects were included; 135 were POAG patients and 102 were control subjects. The minor allele from the -800 G/A SNP conferred a significant risk for POAG (odds ratio [OR]