BackgroundGlaucoma is an optic neuropathy caused by structural damage of the optic nerve,and its early diagnosis is critical for arresting the irreversible damage of visual function. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) allows an early diagnosis of glaucoma by the measurements of the optic disc and retinal nerve fiber parameters. Objective This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of optic disc tomography and the measurement of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL)thickness by spectral-domain OCT on the diagnosis of glaucomatous eye. MethodsIt was a noninterventional, cross-sectionalstudy. The optic disctopographic parameters and total and regional RNFL thickness were measured by RTVue OCT in 62 normal eyes and 67 glaucomatous eyes. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve( ROC ) was used to assess the ability to differentiate glaucoma eyes from normal eyes of each testing parameter. This trial complied with the Helsinki Declaration and was approved by the Clinical Trial Ethic Committee of Beijing TongrenHospital. All of the participants signed the written informed consent before any medical examination. Results In the comparison of demography ,the ages of patients, the mean deficiency( MD ) and pattern standard difference( PSD ) of perimetry were obviously larger in the glaucoma group, primary open angle glaucoma ( POAG ) group and primary closure-angle glaucoma(PACG) group than those of normal controls( P＜0. 01 ). No significant differences were found in the disc area between a total glaucoma group, POAG group or PACG group and normal group ( P =0. 101,0. 741 and 0. 652, respectively) ;however, the average RNFL thickness between normal eyes and glaucomatous eyes were significantly different( 109. 758 μm versus 79. 539 μm, P＜0. 01 ). Among the eight regions around the optic disc, the thickest RNFL located at the inferotemporal( 150. 109 μm) and superotemporal( 146. 105 μm) regions in normal eyes,and at the superotemporal( 104. 354 μm) and inferotemporal( 102. 436 μm) regions in glaucomatous eyes. Both in normal and glaucomatous eyes,the thinnest RNFL located at the nasal(NU+NL) and temporal(TU + TL) regions. For optic disc topographic parameters,the highest ROC were observed in rim volume( ROC--0. 850,0. 841 and 0. 862 in total glaucoma,POAG and PACG, respectively) and vertical cup/disc ratio( ROC =0. 840,0. 849 and 0. 830 in total glaucoma,POAG and PACG,respectively), and the sensitivities for specificity cutoff set at 80％ were 73.1％ and 76. 1％ in total glaucoma,73.0％ and 81.1％ in POAG and 73.3％ and 70.0％ in PACG, respectively. For RNFL thickness ,the highest ROC was observed in average RNFL( ROC =0. 925,0. 910 and 0. 942 in total glaucoma, POAG and PACG,respectively) ,and the sensitivities for specificity cutoff set at 80％ were 89. 6％ ,89.2％ and 90. 0％ in total glaucoma,POAG and PACG, respectively. Among the eight regions around the optic disc, RNFL thickness of region IT achieved the highest ROC, RNFL thickness of region TU and TL had the lowest ROC. Conclusions RTVue OCT appears to be of fair discriminating ability in distinguishing normal from glaucomatous eyes. RTVue OCT shows promise for the diagnosis of glaucoma.

BACKGROUNDThough trabeculectomy is often performed on patients with medically refractive pigmentary glaucoma (PG), the clinical outcomes of surgical treatment on PG remain unknown. The aim of this study was to summarize the long-term efficacy and safety of trabeculectomy on PG.

METHODSThis was a prospective case series observational study. Eighteen consecutive PG patients were followed up for 8 years after trabeculectomy from May 2006 to April 2007. Visual acuity (VA), best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), slit lamp biomicroscopy, intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement, Humphrey visual field analysis (VFA), and stereoscopic funduscopy were performed on admission and every 6 months after the surgery. Postoperative IOP, VA, BCVA, VFA, adjunctive anti-glaucoma medication, treatment-related side-effects, changes in blebs, and main clinical findings in the anterior segment of PG were recorded and compared with the baseline.

RESULTSEighteen PG eyes from 18 patients, with average preoperative IOP of 34.5 ± 4.7 mmHg (range: 21-47 mmHg, 1 mmHg=0.133 kPa) were enrolled in this study. All enrolled patients completed the follow-up visits and required examinations. Eight years after trabeculectomy, all surgical eyes (18/18) had satisfactory IOP control with an average of 13.7 ± 2.5 mmHg (range: 9-19 mmHg), which was significantly lower than baseline (P = 0.001). Majority (15/18) of the PG eyes had stable VA, BCVA, VFA, and optic disc cupping parameters. Functional blebs still existed in 12/18 of the PG eyes at the last follow-up visit. Unanimously, pigmentation in the anterior segment attenuated with time after surgical treatment. No severe side-effects were recorded in any of the surgical eyes.

CONCLUSIONSAll surgical PG eyes in this study had satisfactory IOP control 8 years after the surgery with well-preserved visual function. The long-term efficacy and safety of trabeculectomy are promising in PG patients.

Adult ; Female ; Glaucoma ; surgery ; Glaucoma, Open-Angle ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Time Factors ; Trabeculectomy ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Objective: To observe the effect of Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum Cum Alumine polysaccharides(PRPCAP)on airway mucus secretion in rats with allergic asthma, in order to study the material basis of the "macromolecule" component of the polysaccharides as the original medicinal materials. Method: The 60 SPF-grade Wistar rats were induced by intraperitoneal injection of chicken ovalbumin (OVA) and aluminum-magnesium adjuvant, except for the normal control group. The OVA solution was aerosolized to establish a rat model of allergic asthma. After successful modeling, the rats were randomly divided into 5 groups, namely allergic asthma model group, positive drug group (montalurast sodium,5 mg·kg^-1), high-dose PRPCAP group (400 mg·kg^-1), middle-dose PRPCAP group (200 mg·kg^-1) and low-dose PRPCAP group (100 mg·kg^-1). The contents of interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) supernatant were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the count of eosinophils (EOS) was detected by BALF sediment. The histopathological changes were observed by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining in lung tissue. The mRNA expression of mucin 5AC (MUC5AC) was detected by Real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR). Result: Compared with the normal control group, serum IL-4 level in the allergic asthma model group was significantly increased (P<0.01), IFN-γ level was significantly decreased (P<0.01), and EOS counts in BALF were significantly increased (P<0.01). Compared with the allergic asthma model group, the positive drug group, and high, middle, and low-dose PRPCAP groups could significantly reduce the serum IL-4 content (P<0.01), while high and middle-dose PRPCAP groups could significantly reduce the content of IL-4 in BALF (P<0.05, P<0.01), the middle-dose PRPCAP group could significantly increase the content of IFN-γ in serum (P<0.05), EOS counts in BALF were significantly lower in the positive drug group and all of PRPCAP groups (P<0.01). HE staining showed the pathological changes in the lung tissue of the allergic asthma model group and a mitigating effect in the positive drug group and all of PRPCAP groups. Compared with the normal control group, the expression of MUC5AC mRNA in the lung tissue of rats with allergic asthma was significantly increased (P<0.01). Compared with the model group of allergic asthma rats, the positive drug group and all of PRPCAP groups showed significant decrease in MUC5AC mRNA (P<0.01). Conclusion: The "macromolecule" component of polysaccharides in the Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum Cum Alumine may be the material basis for the efficacy of eliminating dampness and eliminating phlegm.

The present study was designed to synthesize 2-Cyano-3, 12-dioxooleana-1, 9(11)-en-28-oate-13β, 28-olide (1), a lactone derivative of oleanolic acid (OA) and evaluate its anti-inflammatory activity. Compound 1 significantly diminished nitric oxide (NO) production and down-regulated the mRNA expression of iNOS, COX-2, IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. Further in vivo studies in murine model of LPS-induced acute lung injury (ALI) showed that 1 possessed more potent protective effects than the well-known anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone by inhibiting myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, reducing total cells and neutrophils, and suppressing inflammatory cytokines expression, and thus ameliorating the histopathological conditions of the injured lung tissue. In conclusion, compound 1 could be developed as a promising anti-inflammatory agent for intervention of LPS-induced ALI.
Acute Lung Injury ; drug therapy ; genetics ; immunology ; Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; administration & dosage ; chemical synthesis ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid ; immunology ; Cyclooxygenase 2 ; genetics ; immunology ; Female ; Humans ; Interleukin-1beta ; genetics ; immunology ; Interleukin-6 ; genetics ; immunology ; Lipopolysaccharides ; adverse effects ; Lung ; drug effects ; immunology ; Macrophages ; drug effects ; immunology ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Neutrophils ; drug effects ; immunology ; Oleanolic Acid ; administration & dosage ; analogs & derivatives ; chemical synthesis ; Peroxidase ; genetics ; immunology ; RAW 264.7 Cells ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; genetics ; immunology