Congenital cataract (CC) is the primary cause of treatable childhood blindness. Population-based assessments of prevalence and surgery age of CC, which are critical for improving management strategies, have been unavailable in China until now. We conducted a hospital-based, cross-sectional study of the hospital charts of CC patients younger than 18 years old from January 2005 to December 2010 at Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center (ZOC) in Guangzhou, China. Residence, gender, age at surgery, hospitalization time, and the presence of other ocular abnormalities were extracted and statistically analyzed in different subgroups. The search identified 1314 patients diagnosed with CC from a total of 136154 hospitalizations, which accounted for 2.39% of all the cataract in-patients and 1.06% of the total in-patients over the six-year study period. Of the identified CC patients, 9.2% had ≥2 hospitalizations due to the necessity of additional surgeries, with a total ratio of boys to girls of 1.75∶1. Based on a subgroup analysis according to age, patients 2–6 years old constituted the highest proportion (29.22%) of all hospitalized CC patients, and those 13–18 years old constituted the lowest proportion (13.47%) of the total number. The average age at surgery was 27.62±23.36 months, but CC patients ≤6 years old (especially ≤6 months old) became increasingly prevalent throughout the 6-year study period. A total of 276 cases (20.93%) of CC were associated with one or more other ocular abnormalities, the highest incidence rates were observed for exotropia (6.24%), nystagmus (6.16%), and refractive error (3.65%). In conclusion, CC patients accounted for 2.39% of all cataract in-patients in a review of 6 years of hospitalization charts from ZOC. The age at the time of surgery decreased over the 6-year study period, which probably reflects the continuing improvement of public awareness of children’s eye care in China.
microRNA (miRNA) is abnormally expressed in numerous diseases, and it was intimately associated with cell proliferation and apoptosis. However, the mechanism by which miRNAs control cataractogenesis remains unclear. In the current study, it was demonstrated that miR-34a was highly expressed in the cataractous lens by stem-loop reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Trying to investigate the role of miR-34a in human lens epithelial cells, miR-34a mimics were transfected into SRA01/04 cells, and this suppressed proliferation and induced apoptosis. Subsequently, E2F3 was confirmed as a direct target of miR-34a. Downregulation of E2F3 by small interfering (si) RNA siE2F3 resulted in proliferation inhibition and apoptosis of SRA01/04 cells. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that miR-34a and siE2F3 downregulated E2F3 expression at a protein level. In summary, the current study demonstrated that miR-34a suppressed the proliferation and induced apoptosis of SRA01/04 cells by downregulating E2F3. These observations provide novel insights with potential therapeutic applications for the treatment of cataracts.
PurposeInflammatory cataracts secondary to Behcet's disease (BD) or Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease (VKH) are thought to result from a pathological dysregulation of cytokines that is different from that of age-related (AR) cataracts. However, little is known about the function of cytokines in the development of inflammatory cataracts. The purpose of this study was to identify possible differences in cytokine expression in inflammation- and age-related cataract patients.MethodsAnalysis techniques involving the concomitant use of a cocktail of antibody-coated non-magnetic beads were used to determine the cytokine expression profiles of BD, VKH and AR cataract patients. Furthermore, anterior chamber aqueous flares and inflammatory cells were quantitatively measured with a laser flare cell meter (LFCM).ResultsThe expressions of interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17A, and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) were analyzed in aqueous humor (AqH), phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated and non-PHA-stimulated cultures of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from the three types of cataract patients. IL-6 and IFN-γ were identified above the detection limits, but, among the BD and VKH cataract patients, only the levels of IL-6 were significantly higher in both the AqH and PBMC non-PHA cultures compared with the levels observed in the AR cataract patients. In contrast, IFN-γ was significantly elevated in the AqH of the BD cataract patients compared with the VKH and AR cataract patients. In the PHA-stimulated PBMC cultures, IL-2, IFN-γ, IL-6, and IL-17A were significantly increased, and the IL-6 level was significantly higher in the VKH patients than in the BD and AR cataract patients. The correlation analyses of the cytokines and inflammation indexes of the AqH obtained with the LFCM revealed that only IL-6 was significantly correlated with the inflammation index.ConclusionDistinct expression profiles of cytokines and the correlations of these profiles with in vivo inflammatory indexes for inflammatory and AR cataract patients were identified.
BackgroundTo compare the in-the-bag stability and visual function of single-piece intraocular lenses (IOLs) and three-piece IOLs.MethodsA total of 65 patients with age-related cataracts (80 eyes) were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive in-the-bag implantation of either a single-piece IOL (40 eyes) or a three-piece IOL (40 eyes). Follow-up visits were conducted at 1 week, 1 month and 3 months postoperatively. Visual acuity, refraction and total aberration were examined. IOL position stability (including axial movement, decentration and tilt) was measured using a Scheimpflug imaging system.ResultsAt the 3-month follow-up visit, single-piece IOLs did not exhibit significant axial movement (0.07 ± 0.30 mm, p = 0.13) compared with their axial position at 1 week postoperatively, whereas three-piece IOLs displayed forward axial movement of −0.22 ± 0.23 mm (p < 0.0001). The mean manifest spherical equivalence (SE) of eyes with single-piece IOL was 0.15 ± 0.18D, whereas in eyes with three-piece IOLs, the mean manifest SE was −0.34 ± 0.15D (p < 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in IOL decentration, tilt, uncorrected visual acuity, best-corrected visual acuity or total spherical aberration between the two groups.ConclusionsThree months after implantation, single-piece IOLs exhibit better axial stability and more stable refractive outcome than three-piece IOLs, but both IOLs perform equally well in terms of decentration, tilt, visual acuity and total aberration.Trial registrationClinicalTrial.gov, NCT02609997, 11/18/2015, retrospectively registered.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12886-016-0283-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Fingolimod (FTY720), a novel class of sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor modulators, has received special interest among ophthalmologists, particularly given that oral administration of FTY720 has proven to effectively treat corneal graft rejection in animal models. However, no studies have examined the performance of FTY720 as an ophthalmic solution in reducing corneal rejection in high-risk corneal rejection models, and the stability and ocular irritation profile of FTY720 ophthalmic solution are also unknown. Thus, we developed 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.5% FTY720 ophthalmic solutions and evaluated their chemical stabilities under various storage conditions with high- performance liquid chromatography. To investigate the ocular irritancy of the FTY720 ophthalmic solution, New Zealand albino rabbits were subjected to the Draize test. Furthermore, classic, well-established rat allogenic penetrating keratoplasty models were used to investigate the anti-rejection efficacy of the tested FTY720 ophthalmic solutions. We found that the non-irritating 0.5% FTY720 ophthalmic solution could prolong corneal allograft survival in rats with significant efficacy for about one month. Furthermore, no significant concentration changes occurred in any of the types of FTY720 ophthalmic solutions within three months. These results revealed crucial profiles of FTY720 ophthalmic solutions and warrant further investigation and optimization of FTY720 in the anti-rejection therapy after keratoplasty.
Calcium levels in the lens rise with increasing age and increased intracellular calcium accumulation is known to be a risk factor for cataract formation. Calbindin-D28K (CALB1) is an intracellular calcium buffer. It is not clear whether CALB1 levels change in response to the Ca2+ accumulation in the lens that occurs with age. The present study investigated the distribution of CALB1 in the lenses of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats and whether this changed with age. Lenses were isolated from SD rats at 1, 6, 12 and 18 months of age. CALB1 distribution was examined using immunohistochemistry. Lens epithelial cells were counted in median sagittal plane slices from the hematoxylin and eosin-stained lens and quantified using western blot analysis. Calb1 gene expression was examined using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. CALB1 was distributed in the epithelial and fiber cells of the lens. CALB1 levels declined significantly with increasing age, whilst there was no significant accompanying decrease in the number of lens cells. A similar reduction was noted in CALB1 mRNA levels. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that CALB1 expression and CALB1 protein levels in SD rat lens decrease with age. This reduction does not reflect a reduction in lens cell numbers but a genuine reduction in gene expression within these cells. Thus, CALB1 may be important in changes occurring in the lens in older age, in particular in the development of cataracts.
Aims: Posttraumatic endophthalmitis (PTE) managed with pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) and a variety of other methods often resulted in retinal detachment (RD), which deteriorates postoperative visual acuity (VA). We investigated initial ocular conditions, surgical management and outcomes of PTE patients and analyzed their relationship in order to find the necessary management for different patients’ conditions. Methods: Retrospective study. Medical records of 62 consecutive patients who were diagnosed with PTE and managed with PPV were retrospectively analyzed. The included patients were divided into two groups depending on their initial VA, with light perception (LP) as borderline: group A (12 cases; VA = LP) and group B (50 cases; VA > LP). Specific variables related to surgical outcomes were analyzed, including: initial VA; intraocular foreign body; location and length of the wound; microbiologic test; cataract extraction; scleral buckling; silicon oil tamponade; gas tamponade, and retinal restoration. Data were statistically analyzed by the χ2 test, by univariate analysis for predictors and by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: RD happened in 19 (30.6%) of the 62 cases included. There were 6 cases (50%) in group A and 13 cases (26%) in group B which resulted in RD. Statistical analysis demonstrated that none of the related factors were correlated to the occurrence of RD (all factors: p > 0.05) in group A, but in group B, scleral buckling (with: 2/22, 9%; without: 11/28, 39%; p < 0.05) and silicone oil tamponade (with: 0/6; without: 13/44, 30%; p < 0.05) were statistically significantly correlated to the occurrence of RD. Conclusions: Preventive scleral buckling and silicone oil tamponade are important for patients with good initial VA (VA > LP) to be successfully managed by PPV.
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