The study demonstrated decreased retinal arteriole saturation and decreased difference in arterio-venous saturation as well as narrowing retinal vessel diameter in highly myopic eyes. Further studies are needed to determine if such changes play a role in the development of high myopia and its complications or occur as a consequence of tissue remodelling during axial elongation.

Silicone oil has been the only long-term vitreous substitute used in the treatment of retinal detachment since 1962 by Cibis. Nevertheless, its effects on retinal vascular morphology and oxygen supply to the retina are ambiguous in current research. We previously invented a foldable capsular vitreous body (FCVB) to use as a new vitreous substitute in the treatment of severe retinal detachment, but its effects on the retinal vessel were unknown. Therefore, in this study, a standard three-port pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) was performed on the right eye of each rabbit and then silicone oil and FCVB were injected into the vitreous cavity as vitreous substitutes. After 180 days of retention, the retinal vascular morphology did not display any distinct abnormalities, and hypoxia-induced factor-1alpha (HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) did not vary markedly during the observation period in silicone oil tamponade- and FCVB-implanted eyes. This study may suggest that silicone oil and FCVB tamponade in rabbit eyes did not cause retinal vascular pathologic changes or retinal hypoxia for 180 days.

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to analyze the shifts in retinal vessel diameter and oxygen saturation in diabetic patients with and without diabetic retinopathy (DR), as well as to assess the association between diabetes duration and either vessel diameter or oxygen saturation.MethodsIn total, 99 Type 2 DM patients were recruited for the study and were divided into three groups: DM with non-obvious retinopathy (DM, n = 29), non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR, n = 40), and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR, n = 30). In addition, 78 age-matched healthy individuals were chosen as the control. The diameter and oxygen saturation of the retinal vessels were analyzed using a noninvasive retinal oximeter, and then compared between the three groups and the normal control. Association analysis was applied to analyze the possible influencing factors, including the diameter and oxygen saturation of retinal vessels, on best corrected visual acuity BCVA, as well as the relationship between diabetes duration and the oximetry values.ResultsAll of the diabetic patients showed thinner arterioles, wider venules, and a smaller arteriolar-to-venular ratio (AVR) than the healthy individuals. The AVR results from the controls through to the PDR group were 0.81 ± 0.07, 0.78 ± 0.07, 0.76 ± 0.07 and 0.67 ± 0.07, respectively. Both the NPDR and PDR groups showed significantly smaller AVR than the control. All of the diabetic patients exhibited higher retinal vessel oxygen saturation than the healthy individuals. Among all of the oximetry values, AVR exhibited the most significant correlation with best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) (β = 1.533, P < 0.0001). An increased diabetes duration was associated with decreased arteriolar diameter (slope = −0.082 pixels/year, r2 = 0.085, P = 0.004) and AVR (slope = −0.009/year, r2 = 0.349, P < 0.001), and with increased venular diameter (slope = 0.104 pixels/year, r2 = −0.109, P = 0.001).ConclusionsIn this Chinese population with type 2 DM, the thinner arterioles and wider venules point to microvascular dysfunction in DR. The increased oxygen saturation of the retinal vessels suggests that retinal oxygen metabolism is affected in diabetic retinopathy.

In vivo study, effectively and safely, the novel PSR device can inhibit rabbits' axial length elongation during postoperative 1 year. This study demonstrates that this novel PSR could be a potential treatment approach for myopia.

Ocular neovascularization (NV) is the primary cause of blindness in many ocular diseases. Large molecular weight anti- vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein drugs, such as Avastin and Lucentis, have saved the vision of millions. However, approximately 20–30% of patients respond poorly to anti-VEGF treatment. We found that artesunate (ART), a small molecular derivative of artemisinin, had a significant inhibitory effect on ocular NV by downregulating the expression of VEGFR2, PKCα, and PDGFR. ART significantly inhibited retinal NV in rabbits and macular edema in monkeys with greater anterior chamber penetrability and more durable efficacy than Avastin. Our pilot study showed that intravitreal injection of 80 μg ART significantly inhibited iris and corneal NV in a severe retinal detachment case. Our results suggest that ART might be a potential persistent small-molecule drug to manage ocular NV via multi-targets.