In addition to its role as a sex hormone, estrogen aff ects the struc ture and function of many other systems such as the bone, the cardiovascular and the nervous system. Here, we review the most recent supporting evidence for es trogen as an important player in ocular fundus diseases, focusing particularly o n the effects of estrogen on these diseases and the underlying mechanisms. Base d on this, we also discuss the clinical applicability of estrogen in treating va rious agerelated disorders including agerelated macular degeneration and ret in al neurodegeneration. Our growing understanding of estrogenmediated action at a molecular level will provide insight into the controversies surrounding hormon e replacement therapy.
The mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) belongs to the nuclear receptor superfamily and is expressed in the retina and choroid. MR antagonist (MRA) has a long history of application in non-ophthalmic clinical practice. Various cellular and animal models indicated that inappropriate activation of MR participated in pathological angiogenesis, oxidative stress, inflammation, disturbance of ion/water homeostasis and neurodegenerative changes, while the application of MRA can reduce or reverse these pathological processes. After using MRA in central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) patients, improved visual function, less subretinal fluid and reduced sub-foveal choroidal thickness were observed. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in MR and plasma aldosterone levels were significantly different between chronic CSC patients and CSC patients with spontaneous remission. Novel formulation for sustained-release MRA and the mechanisms involving inflammation may become the new focus of MR study. This review summarizes the research status of MR and MRA in order to provide a reference for future basic research and clinical treatment.
Ocular fundus diseases is a kind of ophthalmic diseases that occur in the vitreous, retina, choroid and optic nerve, including a series of pathophysiological changes such as inflammation, exudation and proliferation. Because of high morbidity and high blindness rate, ocular fundus diseases has been paid more and more attention from medical community. With the continuous deepening of research on its etiology, anatomy and pathological mechanism in recent years, clinicians have obtained more abundant treatment methods than in the past, and the medical treatment of ocular fundus diseases have made many phased progress. However, due to its wide spectrum of diseases and complex pathological mechanism, clinicians still need to further explore more effective treatment methods, and improve the effect of diagnosis and treatment to ocular fundus diseases.
The COVID-19 causes multiple organ dysfunction such as respiratory system, meanwhile it causes ocular fundus diseases threatening visual function. The occurrence of COVID-19 related fundus diseases is associated with retinal capillary ischemia, thrombosis, and immune inflammatory response. COVID-19 related fundus diseases mainly include cotton wool spots and microhaemorrhages, retinal vascular occlusion, paracentral acute middle maculopathy, acute macular neuroretinopathy, uveitis, and endogenous endophthalmitis. We will summarize the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 related fundus diseases based on literature reports and clinical practice, and share some thoughts on its diagnosis and treatment.
Single cell RNA sequencing technique provides a strong technical support for the analysis of cell heterogeneity in biological tissues, and has been widely used in biomedical research. In recent years, considerable scRNA-seq data have been accumulated in the research of ocular fundus diseases. The ocular fundus is abundant for the network of vessel and neuron, which leads to the complicated pathogenesis of fundus diseases. Through single cell RNA sequencing technique, the expression of thousands of genes of certain cell types or even subtypes can be obtained in the disease environment. Single cell RNA sequencing technique accurately reveals the pathogenic cell types and pathogenic mechanisms of ocular fundus diseases such as neovascular retinopathy, which provides a theoretical basis for the birth of new diagnosis and treatment targets. The construction of multi-omics single-cell database of ocular fundus diseases will enable high-quality data to be further explored and provide an analysis platform for ophthalmic researchers.