Pharmaceutical therapy, including anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment and intravitreal corticosteroids, is the most common treatment for branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) and its complications, however there are confusing ideas about the protocol, patient selection, timing and endpoint of this treatment. The disease is easy to relapse with these drugs therapy. Collateral vessel formation was found in patients receiving intravitreal injection of ranibizumab or triamcinolone for BRVO and secondary macular edema. The mechanism of collateral vessel formation has not been carefully investigated. In the past thrombolysis, arteriovenous fasciostomy and laser choroidal retinal vascular anastomosis were used to reconstruct the retinal circulation, but their rationality, effectiveness and safety need to be further were studied. In recent years, because of the key technology is still immature, the artificial vascular bypass surgery experiment is not yet practical, but provides us a new idea worth looking forward to for the treatment of BRVO.
ObjectiveTo observe the changes of peripapillary vessel density and retinal nerve fiber layer parameters (RNFL) in diabetic mellitus (DM) patients with early diabetic retinopathy (DR).MethodsA retrospective clinical study. From January to December 2018, twenty-eight DM patients (47 eyes, DM group) and 20 normal subjects (40 eyes, control group) in Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University at Hangzhou were included in the study. There was no significant difference between the two groups in age (t=－1.397, P=0.169) and sex composition ratio (χ2=0.039, P=0.843). The optic nerve head was scanned by OCT angiography (OCTA) with HD 4.5 mm ×4.5 mm imaging scanning mode for all subjects. The peripapillary radial peripapillary capillaries vessel density (ppVD) and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) thickness were measured. The changes of ppVD and pRNFL thickness between the two groups were observed. Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between ppVD and pRNFL in each quadrant.ResultsCompared with the control group, the mean ppVD and superior-hemi part, inferior-hemi part, superior, nasal, inferior and temporal quadrant ppVDs of DM group were all significantly lower than those of control group (t=5.107, 4.360, 3.713, 4.007, 2.806, 4.046, 2.214; P＜0.05). The mean and all quadrants pRNFL thickness were lower in eyes of DM group compared with the control, and the superior and inferior quadrant pRNFL thickness were statistically significant (t=2.117, 2.349; P＜0.05), while the mean pRNFL and superior-hemi, inferior-hemi part, nasal and temporal quadrant were not statistically significant (t=1.867, 1.717, 1.869, 0.720, 0.303; P＞0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed that the significant high-positive correlation was found between ppVD and pRNFL thickness in the nasal quadrant (r=0.734, P＜0.001).ConclusionIn early DR patients, ppVD decreased and pRNFL thinned.
ObjectiveTo observe and analyze the correlations between aqueous humor cytokine concentrations and disorganization of retinal inner layers (DRIL), as well as postoperative visual acuity, in patients with idiopathic epiretinal membrane (iERM). MethodsA prospective clinical study. From November 2022 to October 2024, 40 eyes of 40 patients diagnosed with iERM at Ophthalmology Center of Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital (Affiliated People's Hospital) underwent cataract surgery alone or combined with pars plana vitrectomy (iERM group) were enrolled; 19 eyes of 19 patients undergoing cataract surgery alone during the same period served as the control group. All eyes underwent best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) testing and swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT). BCVA was assessed using a logarithmic visual acuity chart and converted to the logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) for statistical analysis. Central macular thickness (CMT) was measured using SS-OCT. The iERM group was further subdivided into DRIL-positive and DRIL-negative subgroups (21 eyes and 19 eyes, respectively), based on the presence or absence of DRIL. Aqueous humor samples were collected preoperatively from eyes in both the iERM and control groups. Concentrations of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, TGF-β2, TGF-β3, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-AB, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF), vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), placental growth factor (PLGF), glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), angiopoietin (Ang)-1, Ang-2, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured. Follow-up examinations using the same equipment and methods were performed at 1 month postoperatively. Aqueous cytokine levels were compared between the iERM group, control group, DRIL-positive subgroup, and DRIL-negative subgroup. Correlations between aqueous cytokine levels in the iERM group and BCVA or CMT were also analyzed. Intergroup comparisons utilized the Mann-Whitney U test; correlations between variables were assessed using Spearman's rank correlation analysis. ResultsCompared to the control group, the iERM group exhibited significantly higher aqueous concentrations of TGF-β1, TGF-β3, PDGF-AB, PLGF, GDNF, ICAM-1, Ang-1, and TNF-α (P＜0.05). Compared to the DRIL-negative subgroup, the DRIL-positive subgroup showed significantly elevated aqueous concentrations of TGF-β3, PDGF-AB, PLGF, GDNF, ICAM-1, Ang-1, Ang-2, TNF-α, and IL-6 (P＜0.05). Significant differences were observed in logMAR BCVA (P= 0.028) and CMT (P＜0.001) within the iERM group between preoperative and 1-month postoperative measurements. LogMAR BCVA differed significantly between the DRIL-positive and DRIL-negative subgroups (P=0.048). Correlation analysis revealed that baseline aqueous levels of VEGF-A and IL-6 in eyes with DRIL were positively correlated with postoperative BCVA (r=0.324, 0.452; P=0.042, 0.003). No significant correlation was found between CMT and any cytokine (P＞0.05). ConclusionsAqueous humor cytokines are closely associated with DRIL in iERM patients. IL-6 and VEGF-A may serve as potential predictive biomarkers for early postoperative visual recovery.