Epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation, histone post-translational modifications, non-coding RNA are reversible, heritable alterations which are induced by environmental stimuli. Major risk factors of diabetes and diabetic complications including hyperglycemia, oxidative stress and advanced glycation end products, can lead to abnormal epigenetic modifications in retinal vascular endothelial cells and retinal pigment epithelium cells. Epigenetic mechanisms are involved in the pathogenesis of macular edema and neovascularization of diabetic retinopathy (DR), as well as diabetic metabolic memory. The heritable nature of epigenetic marks also playsakey role in familial diabetes mellitus. Further elucidation of epigenetic mechanisms in DR can open the way for the discovery of novel therapeutic targets to prevent DR progression.
To perform a meta-analysis of single nucleotide polymorphism needs to calculate gene frequency. This paper employs allele model as an example to introduce how to calculate gene frequency and display the process of a meta-analysis of single nucleotide polymorphism data using Review Manager 5.3 software.
Leber hereditary optic neuropathy is an optic neuropathy associated with mitochondrial DNA. The disease affects young men mainly, which is considered to be due to denaturation of the retinal nerve ganglion cell and axonal loss of optic nerve, leading to optic atrophy. Nowadays, there are some development in studying Leber hereditary optic neuropathy by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). It is great help to know the disease, forecast the progression of disease, and take action on intervention. In addition, there is a lack of in-depth study on OCT and OCTA characteristics among different mutation sites of LHON, different genders of the same site, different families of the same site or even different branches of the same family. It is expected to be improved in the future work.
Microcystic macular edema (MME) represents a pathological change that can be observed in the inner layer of the retina in patients diagnosed with glaucoma. This phenomenon is particularly prevalent in individuals with moderate to advanced glaucoma. The majority of research in this field has focused on primary open-angle glaucoma. The occurrence of MME in glaucoma has been demonstrated to be associated with younger age, advanced stage and disease progression. MME occurs in the parafoveal region, most frequently located in the inferior perimacular region, which corresponded with the most vulnerable area of ganglion cells in glaucoma. The presence of MME may affect the automatic layering of optical coherence tomography images, suggesting that clinicians should be mindful of the occurrence of MME to avoid misdiagnosis of the disease. It is hypothesised that the occurrence of MME in glaucoma may be related to macular vitreous traction, mechanical stress of the stent, and Müller cell dysfunction. A comprehensive investigation of the precise pathophysiological mechanism of MME in glaucoma will facilitate the development of a novel perspective and a scientific foundation for the diagnosis, disease monitoring and evaluation of treatment efficacy in glaucoma.
Central serous chorioretinitis (CSC) is a kind of choroidal retinopathy characterized by choroidal vasodilatation and hyperpermeability, retinal pigment epithelial cell lesions and serous retinal detachment. Various imaging examinations and imaging techniques have been used to describe the characteristics of the retina and choroid. Fundus manifestations of different types of CSC has both generality, and have their respective characteristic. The classification of CSC and its differentiation from other diseases including the choroidal neovascularization and pachychoroidopathy spectrum depending on varieties of fundus imaging techniques. The current study aims to review the various performance characteristics of CSC especially for chronic CSC with multimodal imaging and the current research progress, so as to provide reference for ophthalmologists to more comprehensively and intuitively understand the clinical characteristics and potential pathogenesis of CSC, and also to provide basis for multimodal imaging assisted diagnosis and treatment.
Iron death is an alternative to normal cell death and is regulated by a variety of cellular metabolic pathways. Iron death has become a hot topic of research because it can cause damage to various organs and degenerative diseases in the body. Metabolism, signalling pathways, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and immune cells can all affect the occurrence of iron death, and the blood-retina destruction induced by iron death plays an important role in autoimmune uveitis. Exploring the components of the blood-retina regulatory mechanism of iron death in autoimmune uveitis can lead to the search for targeted drug targets, which can provide a new research idea for the subsequent study of the diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune uveitis.
Accurate collection and preservation of vitreous and retina-related tissue specimens is the basis for clinical diagnosis and rigorous basic research. The clinical uses of vitreous specimens include microbial culture, cytological detection, detection of degenerative diseases, PCR analysis, and cytological detection of cell morphology. The experimental research uses include DNA gene analysis, protein quantitative analysis, metabolite examination, RNA content quantitative analysis, cytokine determination and so on. Retinal specimens collecting was mainly used for PCR analysis of retinal proliferative membrane, immunohistochemical staining, immunofluorescence examination, microvascular density evaluation, cell isolation and culture, etc. Understanding the collection of vitreoretinal surgical specimens and the application of relevant detection techniques and materials can provide a more comprehensive idea for the diagnosis of vitreoretinal diseases and a broader reference for the related basic research.
Choroidal neovascularization is the leading causes of central vision loss in wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD) patients. Smoking not only aggravates the incidence and severity of the choroidal neovascularization of wAMD, but also affects the clinical treatment, making the prognosis worse. Nicotine, as an important harmful substance in tobacco, is an easily addictive and highly toxic alkaloid. Animal experiments and clinical studies have confirmed that nicotine can aggravate wAMD by mediating angiogenesis through nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, bone marrow blasts, inflammation, complement system, etc. Therefore, in order to early take appropriate intervention measures to prevent and delay the development, we should actively explore the exact pathogenesis by which nicotine aggravates the choroidal neovascularization.
The exact pathophysiological mechanisms of diabetic retinopathy (DR) remain elusive. The inflammatory reaction, retinal vascular leakage and retinal neovascularization are main features of DR. Adiponectin (APN) is an endogenous biological active protein secreted by adipocytes. It can increase insulin sensitivity, regulate blood glucose and lipid metabolism, and has anti-inflammation and anti-neovascularization functions. It may be involved in the development of DR. This review summarized the studies on the association between APN and DR in recent years.
Vitrectomy combined with internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling and vitreous tamponade is a conventional method for treating macular hole (MH), but the visual acuity and MH closure rate remains to be further improved. After removal of posterior vitreous cortex, the ILM is grasped with an ILM forceps and peeled off in a circular fashion for approximately 1 disc diameters around the MH. During the circumferential peeling, the ILM is not removed completely from the retina but is left attached to the edges of the MH. The ILM was then massaged gently over the MH from all sides until the ILM became inverted and then peel all other ILM within vascular arcades. Inverted ILM flap technique is one of the important improvement methods in MH vitrectomy, especially for MH with large diameter and unhealed MH after ILM peeling. Compared with conventional vitrectomy combined with ILM peeling, inverted ILM flap technique can enhance MH closure and improve visual acuity. Due to lack of large sample observation in clinical trials of inverted ILM flap technique, we still need more cases and longer follow-up of this technology to more accurately evaluate the effectiveness and safety of this technique.