IntroductionThere are an estimated 246 million people with diabetes mellitus globally and this figure is predictedto rise to 380 million by 2025, with the most rapid growth in developing countries, among the workingage group of the population.Now in Mongolia, the more than half of population live in cities and settlements, following thisurbanization the population`s diet and lifestyle has been changed to more western style and morepeople affected by diabetes mellitus.Diabetic retinopathy is the most common chronic and devastating complication of diabetes whichleads to visual impairment and blindness. Diabetic retinopathy develops in nearly all persons withtype 1 diabetes and in more than 77% those with type 2 who survive over 20 years with disease. Thecurrent estimates of the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy vary in different countries. The WHO hasestimated that diabetic retinopathy is responsible for 4.8% of 37 million cases of blindness throughoutthe world.Significant independent predictors of proliferative diabetic retinopathy determined by multivariableanalysis were fasting plasma glucose level, duration diabetes, plasma cholesterol, systolic bloodpressure and therapeutic regimen.In recent years a number of randomized clinical trials have shown that interventions to improvemetabolic control, careful monitoring and treatment reduce late diabetic complications.GoalTo establish the prevalence, severity and risk factors of diabetic retinopathy type 2 diabetic patientsin Ulaanbaatar.Materials and MethodsThe study conducted by cross sectional study. Randomly selected 235 patients type 2 diabetic patientsfrom Bayanzurh districts of city Ulaanbaatar. Participants provided a detailed medical and personalhistory, underwent an ocular examination including funduscopy. Fasting blood glucose-FBG, totalcholesterols, triglyceride, HDL were determined by methods of laboratory in venous plasma.ResultsThe prevalence of diabetic retinopathy among people with type 2 diabetes was 37.4%. The prevalencenon-proliferative diabetic retinopathy was 17% (40), pre-proliferative diabetic retinopathy was 8.1%(19), and of proliferative diabetic retinopathy was 12.3 %( 29).The mean age of participants with diabetic retinopathy was 57.4 years (range 26-79). The meanage of participants with non-diabetic retinopathy was 53.6 years (range 26-76). The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy did not vary significantly with age. Retinopathy was positively associated with alonger reported duration of diabetes and with higher fractions of blood glucose (p<0.05).Progression of diabetic retinopathy positively associated with high level fasting blood glucose (6.2mmol/l), total cholesterol (4.5 mmol/l), systolic pressure (130 mm Hg) diastolic pressure (90 mm Hg),triglyceride (2.2 mmol.l) and low level HDL (1.1 mmol/l).ConclusionRisk factors for diabetic retinopathy were found to be high level of blood glucose, longer duration ofdiabetes. Diabetes poor control was significantly associated with progression of diabetic retinopathy.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of severe visual loss in people aged 50 years or older. It estimates that 25-35 million people lost vision due to AMD in the world. Rapid increase of aging population, 33.2 million people was affected by AMD in 1994and there is estimation the number will reach 80 million by 2050. Prevalence of disease is different in countries it relates due to aging population and the ratio is higher in developed countries. The risk factors of AMD; race, nationality, life style, cigarette smoking, alcoholconsumption, UV exposure, diet, vitamin or food supplements consumption, drugs and high blood pressure. This study was to evaluate risk factors in age related macular degeneration because cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption and high blood pressure are high among elder Mongolians. Introduction of Optical Coherent Tomography /OCT/ in ophthalmology enables us to early diagnose and prevention. It will be basic data for developing AMD prevention policy and improving methods of diagnosis and management.

LASIK is the most popular treatment method for correction of the refractive errors of ophthalmology its development in 1990 and number of patients has continued to increase.The safety and efficacy of LASIK surgery have been reported several times by numerous researchers and doctors, but all studies have made abroad. This time we have summarized postoperative outcomes of LASIK surgery, which have performed in our country. Consequently 103 patients (206 eyes) who underwent LASIK surgery in “Bolor-Melmii” eye clinic between 2007 and 2011 were enrolled. The retrospective method of study was used to evaluate postoperative outcomes. Preoperative UCVA of 0.04-0.4 improved to 0.5-1.2(decimal) at 1 day after surgery and during 1 year after surgery revealed minimal but wasstable. Preoperative mean sphere equivalent of 2.2+/-0.72D improved at the 1 year by +/-0.5D in 161 eyes (78.15%), by +/-1.0D in 39 eyes (18.9%) and by +/-2.0D in 6 eyes (2.9%)after surgery. Mean sphere equivalent and astigmatism improved to -0.46 +/-0.4D and -0.43+/-0.34D respectively at 1 year after surgery. Improvement of the sphere equivalent and its stability during a year period of study proves that LASIK surgery is an effective with stable improvements and safe procedure for correcting myopia/myopic astigmatism. No severe complications occurred during and after surgery.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is an important cause of vision loss around the world, being the leading cause in the population between 40 and 59 years old. Among patients with DR, diabetic macular edema (DME) is the most frequent cause of vision impairment and represents a significantpublic health issue. The Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) showed the benefit of focal/grid laser for the management of DME, reducing the risk of moderate visual loss by approximately 50%, and since then,macular photocoagulation (MPC) has been the gold standard treatment. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an important mediator of blood-retinalbarrier breakdown, which leads to fluid leakage and the development of macular edema. The efficacy and safety of intravitreal anti-VEGF as therapy for DME have recently been proved by various clinical trials providing significantly positive visual and anatomical results. Regarding clinical practice, those outcomes have placed intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF as an optionthat must be considered for the treatment of DME. The aim of this study to evaluate intravitreal bevacizumab and modified Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) macular laser therapy (MLT) in patients with clinically significant macular edema (CSME). Methods: In a1-year, single-center, randomized controlled trial, 70 patients with center-involving CSME were randomized to receive either bevacizumab or MLT. Result: The baseline mean ETDRS BCVA was 58.3±8.6 (range 38–71) in the bevacizumab group and 56.6±7.3 (range 37–69) in the laser group. The mean ETDRS BCVA at one year was 63.2±12.5 (range 41–80) in the bevacizumab group and53.0±8.3 (range 35–74) in the laser group (p=0.0004). At one year, central macular thickness decreased from 405±121 μm (range 275–715 μm) at baseline to 247±141 μm (range 178±541 μm) in the bevacizumab group and in the laser group from 392±137 μm (range 284–741 μm) to 318±129 μm (range 165–615 μm) (p=0.05). Conclusioni: The study provides evidence to support the use of bevacizumab in patients with center involving CSME without advanced macular ischemia.

The Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) has been developed as a simple and rapidsurvey methodology that can provide data on the prevalence and main causes of blindness.AimTo assess the prevalence and main causes of avoidable blindness and visual impairment in peopleaged 50 and above in Mongolia.MethodsThe RAAB uses a standard methodology which is documented in the RAAB Instruction Manual (HansLimburg, International Centre for Eye Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine).Assuming an estimated prevalence of blindness in persons aged 50+ of 2.14% and a non-complianceof 5%, with a variation to 25% around the estimate of 2.14% at 95% probability, the required samplesize was calculated at 4,040: 101 clusters of size 40. Visual acuity (VA) was measured with a Snellentumbling E chart, using optotype size 18 (60) on one side and size 60 (200) on the other side. Thelens status of all participants was assessed by both torch and distant direct ophthalmoscopy, by anophthalmologist in a shaded or dark environment. The data were analyzed using RAAB Version 4.02(ICEH, London) for pre-defined reports relating to both crude and age and gender adjusted results.ResultsThe survey included 4,040 people aged 50 years and older, of whom 4,029 were actually examined.The coverage was 99.7%. 7 persons (0.2%) were absent and 4 (0.1%) refused to participate in thestudy. The prevalence of bilateral blindness with available correction in the better eye is 2.2 % (95% CI,1.7 - 2.7%); 2.4% in males and 2.2% in females. The prevalence of bilateral severe visual impairment(SVI) is 2.1% and bilateral moderate visual impairment (MVI) is 10.8%. The prevalence of functionallow vision, requiring low vision services, is 4.5%. In people aged 50+, untreated cataract is the mostcommon cause of bilateral blindness with 38.9%, followed by glaucoma (20.0%), non-trachomatouscorneal opacity (13.3%), and other posterior segment disease (7.8%).Conclusion: Untreated cataract and uncorrected refractive errors are the major causes of avoidableblindness and low vision in Mongolia, respectively. Priority should be given to cataract surgery,followed by the development of optical services and PHC and PEC services, as these are the mostcost-effective interventions. These three interventions will address about three thirds (67.8%) of thecauses of blindness and have most impact.

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of bevacizumab monotherapy or combined with laser versus laser monotherapy in Mongolian patients with visual impairment due to diabetic macular edema.Prospective, randomized, single-center, a 12 month, laser-controlled, clinical trial. Participants: One hundred twelve eligible patients, aged ≥18 years, with type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in the study eye of 35 to 69 Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS)letters at 4 m (Snellen equivalent: ≥6/60 or ≤6/12), with visual impairment due to center-involved diabetic macular edema (DME). Methods: Patients were randomized into three treatment groups:(I) intravitreal bevacizumab monotherapy (n=42), (II) intravitreal bevacizumab combined with laser (n=35), (III) laser monotherapy (n=35). Bevacizumab injections were given for 3 initial monthly doses and then pro re nata (PRN) thereafter based on BCVA stability and DME progression. The primary efficacy endpoints were the mean change in BCVA and central retinal subfield thickness (CRST) from baseline to month 12.Bevacizumab monotherapy or combined with laser were superior to laser monotherapy in improving mean change in BCVA letter score from baseline to month 12 (+8.3 and +11.3 vs +1.1 letters; both p<0.0001). There were significant difference detected between the bevacizumab and bevacizumab combined with laser treatment groups (p=0.004). At month 12, greater proportion of patients gained ≥10 and ≥15 letters and with BCVA letter score >73 (Snellen equivalent: >6/12) with bevacizumab monotherapy (23.8% and 7.1% and 4.8%, respectively) and bevacizumab + laser (57.1% and 28.6% and 14.3%, respectively) versus laser monotherapy. The mean central retinal subfield thickness was significantly reduced from baseline to month 12 with bevacizumab (−124.4 μm) and bevacizumab + laser (−129.0 μm) versus laser (−62.0 μm; both p<0.0001). Conjunctival hemorrhage was the most common ocular events. No endophthalmitis cases occurred.Bevacizumab monotherapy or combined with laser showed superior BCVA improvements over macular laser treatment alone in Mongolian patients with visual impairment due to diabetic macular edema.

Background: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is an eye condition, that occurs people aged above 50, leads to gradual loss of the vision because of a damage in the macula, which is located in the center of the retina. Several polymorphisms in different genes have been proposed as factors that increase the disease susceptibility. Therefore, we investigated the association between rs833061 polymorphism of VEGF-A gene and rs10490924 polymorphism of ARMS2 gene and AMD in order to analyze with other similar studies by meta analysis. Purpose: To investigate the polymorphisms of VEGF-A gene and ARMS2 gene on AMD susceptibility Methods: is case-control study was conducted on 74 AMD patients and 32 unaffected age-and gender-matched control individuals. Genomic DNA was extracted from the peripheral venous blood. The single nucleotide polymorphisms were identified by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method and results confirmed by gel electrophoresis. The REVIEW MANAGER 5.2 software and MetaXL was used for meta-analysis Results: We did not find statistically significant differences in С allele and СС genotype frequency of rs833061 polymorphism of VEGF-A gene between patients and controls. However, analysis of rs10490924 polymorphism of ARMS2 gene shows that T allele (OR=2.72, 95% CI, 1.47 – 5.02, p=0.001), TT genotype (OR=4.54, 95% CI, 1.49 – 13.87,p=0.019) were significantly associated with AMD risk. Haplotype analysis of these SNPs showed that C+T haplotype was statistically significantly different (OR=5.23, 95% CI, 1.76-15.54, p=0.002) between patients and controls. Conclusion As shown by results, rs10490924 polymorphism of ARMS2 gene show that T allele, TT genotype and C+T haplotype were significantly associated with AMD risk In meta-analysis, T allele of rs10490924 polymorphism of ARMS2 gene was significantly associated with AMD risk in all ethnicity that include Asian and Caucasian. However, T allele prevalence was higher in Asians.

Purpose: Behcet’s disease is characterized by repeated acute inflammatory attacks with aphthous ulcers of the oral mucosa, uveitis of the eyes, skin symptoms, and genital ulcers. Although its etiology is still unknown, there is evidence of the involvement of oral bacteria in systemic diseases. Various types of oral bacteria may be involved in the development and progression of Behcet's disease. Therefore, the present study investigated alterations in the oral flora of patients with Behcet’s disease in Mongolia. We collected saliva samples from the Mongolian Behcet's disease (BD) group and healthy control (HC) group, and the oral flora were analyzed using next generation sequencer (NGS). Methods: DNA was extracted from the unstimulated saliva samples from the 47 BD and 48 HC subjects. The DNA was amplified from the V3-V4 region of 16S rRNA using PCR, and the data were acquired using NGS. Based on the obtained data, we analyzed the alpha diversity, beta diversity, and bacterial taxonomy of the salivary flora.
Household survey covered 148 people with visual and hearing impairments to assess social service accessibility. Results: Beta diversity differed significantly between the BD and HC flora, but no significant differences were observed in alpha diversity. We found that the proportions of three genera—an S24-7 family unknown species, a mitochondria family unknown species, and Akkermansia species were significantly lower in the BD than in the HC group. Conclusion The reduced proportions of the S24-7 family and symbiotic Akkermansia species may be key phenomena in the oral flora of patients with BD.