There are many types of fundus diseases and their causes are complex. They can be caused by metabolic factors or inflammatory factors. Fundus examination and imaging examination tools are the main methods for diagnosing fundus diseases. However, in terms of determining the cause and early diagnosis, if the intraocular fluid detection technology can be reasonably combined, the advantages will be greater. Intraocular fluid is the general term for fluid in the eyeball, including aqueous humor, vitreous humor, etc. The molecular components that can be tested include DNA, RNA, antigens, antibodies, and cytokines. With the advancement of molecular testing technology and equipment, intraocular fluid testing as an evidence-based method has gradually been incorporated into the consensus and guidelines of more fundus disease experts, and is mainly used for infectious fundus diseases and camouflage syndromes. Reasonable use of intraocular fluid testing can help improve the personalized diagnosis and treatment of fundus diseases and reduce unnecessary drug overuse. However, it is worth noting that intraocular fluid detection is only one of many tools and cannot replace other examinations and clinical experience. Excessive intraocular fluid testing not only increases the risk of clinical infections because of invasiveness, but also increases the burden on patients.
Exosomes are nanovesicles actively secreted by cells, which selectively encapsulate biologically active molecules such as proteins, RNA, and cytokines. They play an important role in intercellular communication, immune regulation, and maintenance of homeostasis, which can also be used as carriers for targeted drug delivery. Retinal ischemia-reperfusion injury (RIRI) is a retinopathy that seriously threatens human vision. At present, the clinical treatment of these diseases are symptomatic treatments, and some patients have poor efficacy or even blindness. As extracellular vesicles rich in functional proteins and RNAs, exosomes can not only be used as drugs for the treatment of RIRI, but also be used as carriers for drug delivery to play synergistic therapeutic effects. In the future, with the deepening of the research on the molecular structure, contents and biological functions of exosomes, as well as the continuous development of ophthalmic biology and genetic engineering technology, exosomes are expected to exert their great potential as therapeutic drugs and carriers, and become an important means of treating RIRI.
ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical characteristics, treatments and prognosis of ocular toxoplasmosis (OT).MethodsA retrospective clinical trial. Twelve cases (14 eyes) with OT which was confirmed by clinical and laboratory tests were included in the Department of Ophthalmology, Taihe Hospital in Shiyan and the Department of Ophthalmology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital in Beijing from July 2011 to June 2019. Among the 12 cases, 6 cases were female (7 eyes) and 6 cases were male (7 eyes). The mean age of the participants was 33.4±12.8 years and the duration of illness ranged from 7 days to 30 years. Fungal endophthalmitis, viral uveitis and non-infectious uveitis were misdiagnosed in 2 cases respectively at the first visit. All the patients underwent BCVA, intraocular pressure, slit-lamp microscope, fundus color photography examinations and toxoplasma-specific serological antibodies tests. Intraocular influid were detected for 7 cases, among which 1 case for antibody only, and 6 cases for Goldmann-witmer coefficient (GWC). Of the 6 cases tested for GWC, 4 cases were tested with PCR assay in the ocular fluid addtionally. FFA was performed in 5 cases (6 eyes) and OCT in 6 cases (6 eyes). Eleven cases were treated with antitoxoplasma therapy. The follow-up duration after treatment varied from 1 week to 39 months. BCVA, clinical features and prognosis were retrospectively analyzed.ResultsSpecific antibody seropositivity of Toxoplasma gondii was detected in all 12 patients. Of the 7 cases tested with intraocular fluid, 1 case was IgG positive and the other 6 cases with 5 cases with GWC ＞4 and 1 case with 2＜ GWC ＜4. Only 1 case (25%) was positive among 4 cases with PCR assays meanwhile. BCVA was:＜0.1 in 4 eyes, 0.1～0.3 in 6 eyes and ＞0.3 in 4 eyes. KPs with or without anterior chamber flash or cells could be detected in 6 eyes,congenital macular defect 1 eye, vitreitis 3 eyes (2 eyes with multiple retinal pigmentation foci and 1 eye with tractive retinal detachment), and coexistence of new and old lesions with Kyrieleis arteritis 2 eyes. Nine eyes showed different degrees of vitreous inflammation (75% of 12 active eyes). Single lesion was present in 4 case (4 eyes) and multiple lesions were present in 8 cases (10 eyes). There were no statistically significant changes in BCVA of OT patients before and after treatment (P=0.83). Involvement or adjacent to macula of he primary lesions, misdiagnosis and mistreatment led to the poor prognosisi of visual acuity.ConclusionsThe fundus of OT can show single lesion or multiple lesions, and the active phase is often accompanied by vitreous inflammation. The primary lesion involves or is close to the macular area, misdiagnosis and mistreatment are the main reasons for the poor visual prognosis of patients.
ObjectiveTo compare the clinical manifestations of ocular toxoplasmosis (OT) in adult and children, and to preliminarily explore the role of intraocular fluid detection in the early diagnosis of OT.MethodsA retrospective study. From January 2018 to October 2019, 60 cases of OT patients with 60 eyes diagnosed in the Department of Ophthalmology of Beijing Chaoyang Hospital Affiliated of Capital Medical University were included in the study. The medical history information of patients was collected in parallel with slit-lamp microscopy, indirect ophthalmoscope examination, and canine toxoplasma antibody detection in aqueous or vitreous fluid. Fifty-eight cases underwent visual inspection; 2 cases did not underwent visual inspection, who were children. The visual acuity examination was carried out using the new version of the standard logarithmic visual acuity chart, which was converted into the logarithmic minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) visual acuity during statistics. According to age, the patients were divided into adult group and child group, with 12 eyes in 12 cases and 48 eyes in 48 cases, respectively. The clinical characteristics and main points of diagnosis and treatment of the two groups of patients were compared and observed. The comparison among the measurement data groups conforming and the normal distribution was performed by the independent t test. The comparison between the measurement data groups of the skewed distribution was performed by the Kruskal-Wallis test. The qualitative data were compared with χ2 test.ResultsAmong the adult group and the child group, 7 (58.3%, 7/12) and 34 (70.8%, 34/48) patients with a clear history of contact with dogs and cats were in the adult group and the child group, respectively. The adult group was significantly lower than the child group, however, there was no different statistical significance (χ2=0.236, P=0.627). At the first visit, the self-reported blurred vision of the adult group and the child group was 10 (83.3%, 10/12) and 22 (45.8%, 22/48) cases, respectively. In the adult group and the child group, 3 (25.0%, 3/12) and 20 (43.5%, 20/46) eyes with logMAR visual acuity greater than 1.85, 8 (66.7%, 8/12) and 22 (45.8%, 22/46) eyes with logMAR visual acuity less than 0.3. The visual acuity of the adult group was better than that of the child group, and the difference was statistically significant (Z=2.162, P=0.031). There was no statistically significant difference in the composition ratio of different clinical types of the two groups of eyes (χ2=1.908, P=0.385). The incidence of inflammation in the anterior segment of the eye in the adult group and the child group were 25.0% (3/12) and 56.3% (27/48), respectively; there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (χ2=3.750, P=0.053). The concentration of antibodies in the vitreous humor of the affected eye in the adult group and the child group was greater than that of aqueous humor. The antibody concentrations of vitreous humor and aqueous humor were 36.51 (22.58) and 19.94 (21.78) U/ml in the children group; 45.95 (56.44) and 32.20 (38.64) U/ml in the adult group. Comparison of antibody concentrations in the vitreous humor and aqueous humor of the affected eyes in the child group showed statistically significant differences (Z=−1.984, P=0.047).ConclusionsCompared with children with OT, adult patients with OT have better vision and mild inflammation or hyperplasia of the vitreous cavity. The detection of antibodies related to toxoplasma in the intraocular fluid is helpful for early diagnosis.