Using choroidal thickness to detect myopic macular degeneration

AIM:To explore the usage of choroidal thickness measured by swept-source optical coherence tomography(SS-OCT)to detect myopic macular degeneration(MMD)in high myopic participants.METHODS:Participants with bilateral high myopia(≤−6 diopters)were recruited from a subset of the Guangzhou Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center-Brien Holden Vision Institute High Myopia Cohort Study.SS-OCT was performed to determine the choroidal thickness,and myopic maculopathy was graded by the International Meta-Analysis for Pathologic Myopia(META-PM)Classification.Presence of MMD was defined as META-PM category 2 or above.RESULTS:A total of 568 right eyes were included for analysis.Eyes with MMD(n=106,18.7%)were found to have older age,longer axial lengths(AL),higher myopic spherical equivalents(SE),and reduced choroidal thickness in each Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study(ETDRS)grid sector(P<0.001).The area under the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves(AUC)for subfoveal choroidal thickness(0.907)was greater than that of the model,including age,AL,and SE at 0.6249,0.8208,and 0.8205,respectively.The choroidal thickness of the inner and outer nasal sectors was the most accurate indicator of MMD(AUC of 0.928 and 0.923,respectively).An outer nasal sector choroidal thickness of less than 74μm demonstrated the highest odds of predicting MMD(OR=33.8).CONCLUSION:Choroidal thickness detects the presence of MMD with high agreement,particularly of the inner and outer nasal sectors of the posterior pole,which appears to be a biometric parameter more precise than age,AL,or SE.

Comparisons of ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer loss patterns and its diagnostic performance between normal tension glaucoma and primary open angle glaucoma: a detailed, severity-based study

AIM: To evaluate the patterns of macular ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer(GCIPL) loss in normal tension glaucoma(NTG) and primary open angle glaucoma(POAG) in a detailed, disease severity-matched way;and to assess the diagnostic capabilities of GCIPL thickness parameters in discriminating NTG or POAG from normal subjects.METHODS: A total of 157 eyes of 157 subjects, including 57 normal eyes, 51 eyes with POAG and 49 eyes with NTG were enrolled and strictly matched in age, refraction, and disease severity between POAG and NTG groups. The average, minimum, superotemporal, superior, superonasal, inferonasal, inferior, and inferotemporal GCIPL thickness, and the average, superior, temporal, inferior, and nasal retinal nerve fiber layer(RNFL) thickness were obtained by Cirrus optical coherence tomography(OCT). The diagnostic capabilities of OCT parameters were assessed by area under receiver operating characteristic(AUROC) curves. RESULTS: Among all the OCT thickness parameters, no statistical significant difference between NTG group and POAG group was found(all P>0.05). In discriminating NTG or POAG from normal subjects, the average and inferior RNFL thickness, and the minimum GCIPL thickness had better diagnostic capabilities. There was no significant difference in AUROC curve between the best GCIPL thickness parameter(minimum GCIPL) and the best RNFL thickness parameter in discriminating NTG(inferior RNFL;P=0.076) and indiscriminating POAG(average RNFL;P=0.913) from normal eyes.CONCLUSION: Localized GCIPL loss, especially in the inferior and inferotemporal sectors, is more common in NTG than in POAG. Among all the GCIPL thickness parameters, the minimum GCIPL thickness has the best diagnostic performance in differentiating NTG or POAG from normal subjects, which is comparable to that of the average and inferior RNFL thickness.

Increased aquaporin-1 levels in lens epithelial cells with primary angle-closure glaucoma

AIM： To determine the levels of aquaporin-1（AQP-1） in the lens epithelial cells（LECs） of primary glaucoma and to clarify its correlation with lens thickness.METHODS： This study comprised 64 eyes of 64 patients with primary glaucoma, who were divided into 3 groups： 25 eyes of 25 patients with acute primary angle-closure glaucoma（APACG）, 19 eyes of 19 patients with chronic primary angle-closure glaucoma（CPACG） and 20 eyes of 20 patients with primary open angle glaucoma（POAG）. This study also included 12 eyes of 12 patients with senile cataract as controls. The levels of AQP-1 in LECs were examined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction（RT-q PCR） and immunohistochemistry. The lens thickness was measured by A-scan ultrasonography. RESULTS： The AQP-1 m RNA levels of LECs were 0.84±0.27, 0.69±0.34, 0.44±0.19 and 0.51±0.21 in APACG, CPACG, POAG and senile cataract group, respectively. The levels of AQP-1m RNA were significantly higher in PACG groups compared with those in senile cataract and POAG group（all P〈0.05）. The immunohistochemistry showed the AQP-1 expression were strong-positive in PACG groups, but weak-positive in senile cataract and POAG group. A positive correlation was found between AQP-1 m RNA levels and the lens thickness（r=0.645, P〈0.001）. CONCLUSION： These findings show that the higher expression of AQP-1 in LECs may contribute to increased lens thickness, which might be associated with the occurrence and development of PACG.

Therapeutic Effects of Sodium Hyaluronate on Ocular Surface Damage Induced by Benzalkonium Chloride Preserved Anti-glaucoma Medications

Background： Long-term use of benzalkonium chloride （BAC）-preserved drugs is often associated with ocular surface toxicity. Ocular surface symptoms had a substantial impact on the glaucoma patients＇ quality of life and compliance. This study aimed to investigate the effects of sodium hyaluronate （SH） on ocular surface toxicity induced by BAC-preserved anti-glaucoma medications treatment. Methods： Filly-eight patients （101 eyes）, who received topical BAC-preserved anti-glaucoma medications treatment and met the severe dry eye criteria, were included in the analysis. All patients were maintained the original topical anti-glaucoma treatment. In the SH-treated group （56 eyes）, unpreserved 0.3% SH eye drops were administered with 3 times daily for 90 days. In the control group （55 eyes）, phosphate-butTered saline were administered with 3 times daily for 90 days. Ocular Surface Disease Index （OSDI） questionnaire, break-up time （BUT） test, corneal fluorescein staining, corneal and conjunctival rose Bengal staining, Schirmer test, and conjunctiva impression cytology were pertbrmed sequentially on days 0 and 91. Results： Compared with the control group, SH-treated group showed decrease in OSDI scores （Kruskal-Wallis test： H = 38.668, P 〈 0.001 ）, fluorescein and rose Bengal scores （Wilcoxon signed-ranks test： z = -3.843, P 〈 0.001, and z = 3.508, P 〈 0.001, respectively）, increase in tear fihn BUT （t-test： t - -10.994, P 〈 0.001 ） and aqueous tear production （t-test： t = -10.328, P 〈 0.001 ） on day 91. The goblet cell density was increased （t-test： t = -9.981, P 〈 0.001）, and the morphology of the conjunctival epithelium were also improved after SH treatment. Conclusions： SH significantly improved both symptoms and signs of ocular surface damage in patients with BAC-preserved anti-glaucoma medications treatment. SH could be proposed as a new attempt to reduce ocular surface toxicity, and alleviate symptoms of ocular surface damage in BAC-preserved anti-glaucoma medications treatment.