Eye (Lond) 2017 Jul 21. Epub 2017 Jul 21.

Sunderland Eye Infirmary, Sunderland, UK.

PurposeTo assess the changes in diabetic retinopathy (DR) in type 2 diabetes (T2DM) patients post bariatric surgery and report on the risk factors that may be associated with it.Patients and methodsRetrospective observational study of T2DM patients who underwent bariatric surgery in a UK specialist bariatric unit between 2009 and 2015. Preoperative and postoperative weight, HbA1c, and annual DR screening results were collected from medical records. Read More

Int J Ophthalmol 2017 18;10(6):948-954. Epub 2017 Jun 18.

Department of Medicine and HIV Metabolic Clinic, Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Eaglestone, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire MK 6 5LD, UK.

Aim: To assess the frequency and associated risk factors of diabetic retinopathy among Sudanese individuals with diabetes attending Makka Eye complex in Khartoum, Sudan.

Methods: The cross sectional hospital based study recruited 316 individuals with diabetes from Makkah Eye Complex Retina Clinic. Standard questionnaire was used to collect demographic data, medical history and life style characteristics. Read More

Ophthalmologica 2017 Jul 21. Epub 2017 Jul 21.

Department of Ophthalmology, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University, Changwon, South Korea.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between macular structural changes and visual prognosis after pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) for proliferative diabetic retinopathy.

Methods: The study included 60 eyes that had undergone PPV. Macular optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings were classified into 5 groups preoperatively and 10 groups postoperatively. Read More

Cell Death Dis 2017 Jul 20;8(7):e2941. Epub 2017 Jul 20.

Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a well-known microvascular complication related to inflammation. Mcc950 is a potent and specific inhibitor of the NLRP3 inflammasome but its influence on DR has not been studied. Thus, we evaluated the anti-inflammatory effects of Mcc950 on high-glucose-induced human retinal endothelial cells (HRECs) and the potential underlying mechanism. Read More

JCI Insight 2017 Jul 20;2(14). Epub 2017 Jul 20.

Centre for Experimental Medicine, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) causes significant visual loss on a global scale. Treatments for the vision-threatening complications of diabetic macular edema (DME) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) have greatly improved over the past decade. However, additional therapeutic options are needed that take into account pathology associated with vascular, glial, and neuronal components of the diabetic retina. Read More

Circ Res 2017 Jul 19. Epub 2017 Jul 19.

Institute of Biomedical Sciences, National Chung Hsing University

Rationale: Diabetic retinopathy is characterized by vasopermeability, vascular leakage, inflammation, blood-retinal barrier breakdown, capillary degeneration and neovascularization. However, the mechanisms underlying the association between diabetes and progression retinopathy remain unclear. Objective: Tumor progression locus 2 (TPL2), a serine-threonine protein kinase, exerts a pathological effect on vascular angiogenesis. Read More

J Leukoc Biol 2017 Jul 19. Epub 2017 Jul 19.

Department of Ophthalmology, Ocular Angiogenesis Group, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;

Leukostasis in the retinal microvasculature in animal model studies of diabetes is associated with the development of diabetes-like retinopathy. Therefore, it is generally assumed that adhesion of leukocytes is a central event inciting a chronic, low-grade form of inflammation that causes the vascular abnormalities that are specific for the early stages of diabetic retinopathy (DR), which culminate in diabetic macular edema, proliferative DR, and vision loss in humans. Here, we review the literature critically with respect to leukostasis and assess its pathologic consequences in the human diabetic retina. Read More

Retina 2017 Jul 18. Epub 2017 Jul 18.

*Department of Ophthalmology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, New York; †Department of Ophthalmology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, SUNY Downstate College of Medicine, Brooklyn, New York; and ‡Department of Ophthalmology, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai, New York, New York.

Purpose: To use fractal dimensional analysis to investigate retinal vascular disease patterns in patients with diabetic retinopathy using spectral domain optical coherence tomography angiography.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted which included 49 eyes from 26 control subjects and 58 eyes from 35 patients known to have diabetic retinopathy. Of the 58 eyes with known retinopathy, 31 were categorized as nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (13 mild, 9 moderate, and 9 severe) and 27 were categorized as proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Read More

J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad 2016 Apr-Jun;28(2):364-368

Vitreo-Retina Services, Ophthalmology Department, Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar, Pakistan.

Background: Bevacizmab is still an unlicensed drug for intraocular use in spite of the fact that it has shown comparable efficacy to other anti-vascular endothelial growth factors (anti-VEGF) medications in some large sample randomized control trails. Although repackaged bevacizumab has got safety concerns but its use is growing because of easy availability and low cost. Our study focuses on the diverse and growing indications of intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) and its ocular complications in our geographical setting. Read More

PLoS One 2017 13;12(7):e0180933. Epub 2017 Jul 13.

Nakamura Eye Clinic, Matsumoto-City, Nagano, Japan.

The purpose of this study was to compare steroid hormone concentration levels in the vitreous and serum of vitreoretinal disease patients to elucidate the possibility of neurosteroid production in the retina. Serum and vitreous samples were collected from vitrectomy patients, and estradiol (E2) and testosterone (T) concentrations were measured using electro-chemiluminescence immunoassay. We measured E2 in epiretinal membrane (ERM, n = 14), macular hole (MH, n = 18), proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR, n = 20), and retinal detachment (RD, n = 19) cases, and T in ERM (n = 14), MH (n = 17), PDR (n = 13), and RD (n = 17) cases. Read More

PLoS One 2017 10;12(7):e0180949. Epub 2017 Jul 10.

Department of Medicine, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Singapore, Republic of Singapore.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a leading cause of vision-loss globally among type 2 diabetes (T2DM) patients. Information on the economic burden of DR in Singapore is limited. We aim to identify the total annual direct medical costs of DR at different stages, and to examine factors influencing the costs. Read More

Ugeskr Laeger 2017 Jul;179(28)

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of blindness in the working-age population. Screening for DR is indicated to identify patients with sight-threatening DR (proliferative diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular oedema) in order to prevent loss of vision. In Denmark, screening is performed by the private-practicing ophthalmologists or in hospital settings. Read More

J Ophthalmol 2017 7;2017:9402198. Epub 2017 Jun 7.

Department of Ophthalmology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.

Purpose: To measure the concentrations of various cytokines in the aqueous humor from patients with different stages of diabetic retinopathy.

Methods: All selected cataract patients were categorized into 4 groups: the control group (patients without diabetes), nonretinopathy (NDR) group (diabetic patients without retinopathy), nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) group, and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) group. The aqueous concentrations of interleukin- (IL-) 1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, interferon-γ, tumor necrosis factor-α, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) from patients were measured using the cytometric bead array technique. Read More

Mol Vis 2017 22;23:356-363. Epub 2017 Jun 22.

Regional Medical Research Centre-NE Region (Indian Council of Medical Research), Assam, India.

Purpose: Alteration of pro- and antiangiogenic homeostasis of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) isoforms in patients with hyperglycemia seems crucial but substantially unexplored at least quantitatively for diabetic retinopathy (DR). Therefore, in the present study we aimed to estimate the difference between the pro- (VEGF165a) and antiangiogenic (VEGF165b) VEGF isoforms and its soluble receptors for severity of DR.

Methods: The study included 123 participants (diabetic retinopathy: 81, diabetic control: 20, non-diabetic control: 22) from the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, Kolkata. Read More

Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 2017 Jun 30. Epub 2017 Jun 30.

ICARE Eye Hospital & Postgraduate Institute, E3A, Sector-26, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, 201301, India.

Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2017 Jun;58(7):3189-3201

Diabetes and Metabolism Research Unit and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólica Asociada (CIBERDEM), Vall d'Hebron Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain.

Purpose: Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is a novel regulator of endothelial cell function, angiogenesis, and vasculogenesis. We correlated expression levels of OPG with those of the angiogenic and inflammatory factors vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1/CCL2) in proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). We also examined expression of OPG in retinas from diabetic rats and diabetic patients and measured production of OPG by human retinal microvascular endothelial cells (HRMEC) and investigated its angiogenic activity. Read More

Vision Res 2017 Jun 23. Epub 2017 Jun 23.

Ophthalmology Department, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Royal Victoria Hospital, 274 Grosvenor Rd, Belfast BT12 6BA; Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine, Queen's University Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, BT9 7BL Belfast, UK. Electronic address:

Over the past years, knowledge has expanded with regards to the multiple roles played by Erythropoietin (EPO) in the body. Once believed to be a hormone synthesised in the kidney and involved only in the modulation of erythrocyte production, it is recognised now that EPO can be produced in many tissues, including the retina, and by many cells. In these tissues EPO is released in response to "tissue injury" and appears to have protective functions. Read More

Ophthalmic Res 2017 Jun 27. Epub 2017 Jun 27.

The Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University (Ningbo Branch); and Department of Ophthalmology, Yinzhou Hospital Affiliated to Medical School of Ningbo University, Zhejiang, China.

Purpose: To investigate the association of interleukin (IL)-6 with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in a Chinese population.

Methods: Two subtypes of the IL-6 promoter (-174 and -572 G/C) were genotyped in 215 T2D patients with PDR and 207 T2D patients with a normal retinal function (controls) using the PCR-RFLP method. The mRNA and protein expression of IL-6 was examined by real-time PCR. Read More

Stem Cell Rev 2017 Jun 22. Epub 2017 Jun 22.

Department of Experimental Biology, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, C. K. Norwida 25, 50-375, Wrocław, Poland.

Visual impairment is a common ailment of the current world population, with more exposure to CCD screens and fluorescent lighting, approximately 285 billion people suffer from this deficiency and 13% of those are considered clinically blind. More common causes for visual impairment include age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy (Zhu et al. Molecular Medicine Reports, 2015; Kolb et al. Read More

PLoS One 2017 20;12(6):e0178253. Epub 2017 Jun 20.

Department of Emergency Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

Objectives: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a severe complication of chronic diabetes. The C1q/TNF-related protein family (CTRPs) has been demonstrated to exert protective effects against obesity and atherosclerosis in animal studies. Heretofore, the association between circulating CTRPs and DR patients has been unexplored. Read More

PLoS One 2017 20;12(6):e0179310. Epub 2017 Jun 20.

Department of Statistics, Data Science and Epidemiology, Faculty of Health, Arts and Design, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia.

Background: To evaluate the accuracy and reliability of fundus retinal photos graded by local graders in Bangladesh with those graded by an expert at the Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA) in the context of mass scale diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening in Bangladesh.

Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study of 3,104 adults identified 213 (7.2%) eligible patients with diabetes of age ≥ 40 years in 2012-2013. Read More

Curr Eye Res 2017 Jun 20:1-4. Epub 2017 Jun 20.

b Sackler Faculty of Medicine , Tel Aviv University , Tel Aviv , Israel.

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate and correlate the levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and thrombin-antithrombin III complex (TAT) in the vitreous of patients with different vitreoretinal pathologies.

Methods: Vitreous samples were collected from 78 patients scheduled for pars plana vitrectomy at a tertiary medical center. Patients were divided by the underlying vitreoretinal pathophysiology, as follows: macular hole (MH)/epiretinal membrane (ERM) (n = 26); rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) (n = 32); and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) (n = 20). Read More

Acta Ophthalmol 2017 Jun 20. Epub 2017 Jun 20.

Tungwah Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Dongguan, China.

Mol Med Rep 2017 Aug 19;16(2):1635-1642. Epub 2017 Jun 19.

Digestive Department, Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Pancreatic Disease Research Center of Shanghai, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310006, P.R. China.

Solid pseudopapillary neoplasm (SPN) of the pancreas is a low-grade malignant neoplasm that accounts for ~5% of cystic pancreatic tumors and ~0.9‑2.7% of exocrine pancreatic tumors. Read More

Curr Mol Med 2017 Jun 19. Epub 2017 Jun 19.

State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong. China.

Background: Transforming growth factor (TGFβ)-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and proteotoxic stress are two main contributors of intraocular fibrotic disorders, including proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). However, how these two factors communicate with each other is not well-characterized.

Objective: The aim was to investigate the regulatory role of proteotoxic stress on TGFβ signaling in retinal pigment epithelium. Read More

Biomed Pharmacother 2017 Jun 14;93:70-80. Epub 2017 Jun 14.

Faculty of Pharma-Sciences, Teikyo University, 2-11-1 Kaga, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-8605, Japan.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most common cause of vision loss in patients with diabetes mellitus. Despite the presence of effective therapy, DR is still a significant health burden. A recent research suggests that matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) could be promising targets, which exert multiple actions on early- and late-stage pathogenesis of DR. Read More

Diabetologia 2017 Jun 16. Epub 2017 Jun 16.

Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, 11 Third Hospital Avenue, 168751, Singapore, Republic of Singapore.

Aims/hypothesis: We aimed to examine prospectively the association between a range of retinal vascular geometric variables measured from retinal photographs and the 6 year incidence and progression of diabetic retinopathy.

Methods: We conducted a prospective, population-based cohort study of Asian Malay individuals aged 40-80 years at baseline (n = 3280) who returned for a 6 year follow-up. Retinal vascular geometric variables (tortuosity, branching, fractal dimension, calibre) were measured from baseline retinal photographs using a computer-assisted program (Singapore I Vessel Assessment). Read More

BMC Ophthalmol 2017 Jun 14;17(1):91. Epub 2017 Jun 14.

Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Jalan Raja Perempuan Zainab II, 16150, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia.

Background: Uric acid is a final breakdown product of purine catabolism in humans. It's a potent antioxidant and can also act as a pro-oxidant that induces oxidative stress on the vascular endothelial cells, thus mediating progression of diabetic related diseases. Various epidemiological and experimental evidence suggest that uric acid has a role in the etiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Read More

Nutr Diabetes 2017 Jun 12;7(6):e281. Epub 2017 Jun 12.

Department of Medicine Endocrinology &Metabolism, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.

Objectives: This retrospective, population-based, cross-sectional study evaluated the association between vitamin D deficiency and retinopathy severity in diabetic patients with poorly or well controlled glycaemia. Other potential risk factors for diabetic retinopathy severity were also assessed.

Methods: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005-2008 data were used for the study. Read More

Ophthalmologe 2017 Jun 8. Epub 2017 Jun 8.

Klinik für Augenheilkunde, Universitätsklinikum Münster, Albert-Schweitzer-Campus 1, D15, Domagkstr. 15, 48149, Münster, Deutschland.

Background: To determine and compare the frequency of intraocular hemorrhage in patients who underwent oral anticoagulation with apixaban or phenprocoumon.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of patients under oral anticoagulant medication (apixaban or phenprocoumon) seen between January 2015 and June 2015 at the department of ophthalmology, University of Muenster Medical Center was performed. Vitreal or retinal hemorrhage in addition to clinical information including age, gender, best corrected visual acuity, concomitant diseases, concomitant medication and therapy were obtained. Read More

J Ophthalmol 2017 10;2017:8543592. Epub 2017 May 10.

Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-Ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan.

Rho-associated kinase (Rho-kinase/ROCK) was originally identified as an effector protein of the G protein Rho. Its involvement in various diseases, particularly cancer and cardiovascular disease, has been elucidated, and ROCK inhibitors have already been applied clinically for cerebral vasospasm and glaucoma. Vitreoretinal diseases including diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and proliferative vitreoretinoapthy are still a major cause of blindness. Read More

Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2017 Jun 8. Epub 2017 Jun 8.

University of Birmingham, Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research, Birmingham, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Aims: To assess the relationship between obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and diabetic retinopathy (DR) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and to assess whether OSA is associated with its progression).

Methods: A longitudinal study from diabetes clinics in two UK hospitals was conducted. Patients known to have any respiratory disorder (including OSA) were excluded. Read More

Exp Ther Med 2017 Jun 13;13(6):2912-2916. Epub 2017 Apr 13.

Department of Ophthalmology, Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510280, P.R. China.

In the present study, we investigated the effect of optical coherence tomography (OCT) three-dimensional reconstruction-assisted 23G micro-invasive vitrectomy (abbreviated to'23G') in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). A total of 66 PDR patients (66 eyes) were continuously selected and randomly divided into the control and observation groups with 33 patients in each group. Patients in the control group were treated with routine OCT examination while the patients in the observation group were treated with OCT three-dimensional retinal reconstruction. Read More

Mol Cell Biol 2017 Jun 5. Epub 2017 Jun 5.

Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 70118, USA

The in vivo function of microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) in diabetic retinopathy (DR) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) remains unclear. Here we report that let-7 family members are expressed in retinal and choroidal endothelial cells (EC). In ECs, overexpression of let-7 by adenovirus represses EC proliferation, migration, and networking in vitro, while inhibition of the let-7 family with a locked nucleic acid (LNA)-anti-miR has the opposite effect. Read More

Eye (Lond) 2017 Jun 2. Epub 2017 Jun 2.

Vitreo-Retinal Department, Moorfields Eye Hospital, NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.

PurposeThis retrospective comparative case series aims to determine whether patient ethnicity (White versus South Asian versus Black) is related to the outcome of surgical treatment for traction complications of severe proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR).SettingMoorfields Eye Hospital London, UK.MethodsAll patients who underwent vitrectomy with, delamination and/or segmentation for PDR over a 5-year period (2009-2014) were reviewed retrospectively. Read More

Eye (Lond) 2017 Jun 2. Epub 2017 Jun 2.

Department of Ophthalmology, Ankara Ataturk Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.

PurposeTo evaluate aqueous humor (AH) pentraxin-3 (PTX3) levels in diabetic patients with and without diabetic retinopathy (DR).MethodsIn this prospective study, patients undergoing cataract surgery were enrolled. The study group was composed of 26 type-2 diabetic patients without DR (group 1), 32 diabetic patients with DR (group 2) and 29 age-matched subjects without any systemic disease (group 3). Read More

Sci Rep 2017 May 25;7(1):2640. Epub 2017 May 25.

Department of Ophthalmology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.

Silicone oil (SO) is an intraocular surgical adjuvant that reduces the surgical complications in refractory retinal diseases, although membrane and cellular proliferation is often seen even in SO-filled eyes. We hypothesised that the fluid in the space between the SO and the retina, named the "sub-silicone oil fluid (SOF)", enhances these biological responses. We proposed a safe method for SOF extraction. Read More

Am J Ophthalmol 2017 May 29. Epub 2017 May 29.

Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; The NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London, UK.

Purpose: To determine the time and risk factors for developing proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) and vitreous hemorrhage (VH) DESIGN: Multicenter, national cohort study METHODS: Anonymized data of 50,254 patient eyes with diabetes mellitus at 19 UK hospital eye services were extracted at the initial and follow-up visits between 2007 and 2014. Time to progression of PDR and VH were calculated with Cox regression after stratifying by baseline diabetic retinopathy (DR) severity and adjusting for age, gender, race, and starting visual acuity.

Results: Progression to PDR in 5 years differed by baseline DR: No DR (2. Read More

Ophthalmic Res 2017 Jun 2. Epub 2017 Jun 2.

Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.

Background: The role of microRNA (miRNA)-200b in the pathogenesis of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) has been studied in diabetic animal models. The aim of this study was to assess miRNA-200b expression in the vitreous of patients with PDR and to determine its correlation with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), one of the pathogenic mechanisms in PDR.

Methods: Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was used to measure miRNA-200b expression in the vitreous from 29 eyes with PDR and 30 eyes with idiopathic macular holes (IMH; control group). Read More

JAMA Ophthalmol 2017 Jul;135(7):685-686

Jaeb Center for Health Research, Tampa, Florida.

Open Ophthalmol J 2017 31;11:51-58. Epub 2017 Mar 31.

Department of Internal Medicine, General Hospital of Veroia, Veroia, Greece.

Background: Several studies have focused on oxidative stress on diabetes mellitus (DM). Our purpose was to investigate the impact of oxidative stress on progression of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in insulin-dependent type 2 DM patients, measuring serum malondialdehyde (MDA), as well as to examine the effect of vitamin E on DR progression in the above-mentioned patients.

Methods: Participants in the study were 282 insulin-dependent type 2 DM patients with DR. Read More

PLoS One 2017 30;12(5):e0178230. Epub 2017 May 30.

Department of Developmental Anatomy and Regenerative Biology, National Defense Medical College, Saitama, Japan.

Inflammation is known to be involved in the progression of diabetic retinopathy. We have recently reported that vitreous levels of IL-4, IL-17A, IL-22, IL-31, and TNFα are higher than the respective serum levels in proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) patients, and that vitreous levels of these cytokines are higher in PDR than in other non-inflammatory vitreoretinal diseases or uveitis associated with sarcoidosis. In the present study, we investigated inflammatory cytokines including Th17 cell-related cytokines in aqueous humor samples obtained from eyes with PDR, and analyzed the association between the aqueous humor and vitreous fluid levels of individual cytokines. Read More

J Diabetes Complications 2017 Aug 13;31(8):1348-1353. Epub 2017 Apr 13.

Department of Ophthalmology, University of Padova, Italy; Fondazione G. B. Bietti, IRCCS, Roma, Italy. Electronic address:

Aim: To describe a decade long telemedicine screening for diabetic retinopathy (DR) in the metropolitan area of Padova (North-East Italy) and to report about prevalence/incidence of DR and maculopathy, rate of progression to STDR and optimal screening interval in patients with no DR at first examination.

Methods: Observational, longitudinal, cohort study; 9347 patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) underwent 17,344 fundus exams (three-45° color photos per eye) in two diabetes clinics and were graded in the Reading Centre, by certified personnel. The incidence of STDR, progression of maculopathy and risk factors were evaluated by log Rank test (Kaplan-Meier method). Read More

Eye (Lond) 2017 May 26. Epub 2017 May 26.

Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to determine the association between aqueous ET-1 levels and total retinal blood flow (TRBF) in patients with non-insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and early non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR).Patients and methodsA total of 15 age-matched controls and 15 T2DM patients with NPDR were recruited into the study. Aqueous humor (~80-120 μl) was collected before cataract surgery to measure the levels of ET-1 using suspension multiplex array technology. Read More

Br J Pharmacol 2017 May 26. Epub 2017 May 26.

UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, UCD Conway Institute, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.

Background And Purpose: Pathological growth of ocular vasculature networks can underpin visual impairment in neovascular age-related macular degeneration, proliferative diabetic retinopathy and retinopathy of prematurity. Our aim was to uncover novel pharmacological regulators of ocular angiogenesis by phenotype-based screening in zebrafish.

Experimental Approach: A bioactive chemical library of 465 drugs was screened to identify small molecule inhibitors of ocular hyaloid vasculature (HV) angiogenesis in zebrafish larvae. Read More

Diabetologia 2017 Aug 25;60(8):1534-1540. Epub 2017 May 25.

Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria.

Aims/hypothesis: The aim of this study was to compare retinal oxygen extraction in individuals with diabetes with no or mild non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy and healthy age- and sex-matched volunteers.

Methods: A total of 24 participants with type 1 diabetes and 24 healthy age- and sex-matched volunteers were included in this cross-sectional study. Retinal oxygen extraction was measured by combining total retinal blood flow measurements using a custom-built bi-directional Doppler optical coherence tomography system with measurements of oxygen saturation using spectroscopic reflectometry. Read More

Int J Ophthalmol 2017 18;10(5):790-795. Epub 2017 May 18.

Department of Ophthalmology, New Zealand National Eye Centre, University of Auckland, Auckland 1023, New Zealand.

Aim: To describe the demographic features and visual outcomes of patients presenting to photo-screening services, and treated for sight threatening retinopathy (STR) in a low resource setting, Fiji.

Methods: A retrospective review of all new patients who presented for diabetic photo-screening at the Diabetic Eye Clinic, Suva in 2010. Fundus images were graded using standardised guidelines. Read More

Int J Ophthalmol 2017 18;10(5):782-789. Epub 2017 May 18.

Department of Epidemiology and Reproductive Health, Reproductive Epidemiology Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran 16635-148, Iran.

Aim: To estimate the overall prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in Iran by a systematic review and Meta-analysis.

Methods: We conducted a search of all published literature on diabetic patients for the prevalence of DR using Web of Sciences, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and national electronic databases SID, Magiran, and Iranmedex from their inception until September 2016 with standard keywords. Pooled estimates of the DR prevalence and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using random effects models. Read More

Int J Ophthalmol 2017 18;10(5):765-771. Epub 2017 May 18.

Department of Ophthalmology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei 10002, Taiwan, China.

Aim: To evaluate the prognostic factors for short-term visual and anatomical improvement of intravitreal ranibizumab (IVR) for diabetic macular edema (DME).

Methods: Fifty-one eyes from 35 patients that received three consecutive monthly IVR for DME with moderate visual loss were retrospectively recruited; all cases had their baseline best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) between 20/400 and 20/40. BCVA and central subfield thickness (CST) at baseline and month 3 were collected. Read More

Korean J Ophthalmol 2017 Jun 12;31(3):217-229. Epub 2017 May 12.

Ophthalmic Research Center, Labbafinejad and Imam Hossein Medical Centers, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Purpose: To evaluate visual and anatomical results and identify factors that influence vitrectomy and silicone oil (SO) injection outcomes in proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR).

Methods: This retrospective study included 236 eyes with PDR that were undergoing vitrectomy and SO injection with >3-month follow-up. The primary outcomes were final best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and retinal attachment rate. Read More