No abstract available.
Aged ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Fluorescein Angiography ; Fundus Oculi ; Humans ; *Intraocular Pressure ; Regional Blood Flow/*physiology ; Retina/*diagnostic imaging ; Retinal Hemorrhage/*diagnosis/physiopathology ; Retinal Vein Occlusion/*diagnosis

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to differentiate ischemic central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) from nonischemic CRVO during the early acute phase using plasma homocysteine as a biochemical marker. METHODS: Fasting plasma homocysteine, serum vitamin B12, and folate levels were measured in 108 consecutive unilateral elderly adult (age >50 years) ischemic CRVO patients in the absence of local and systemic disease and compared with a total of 144 age and sex matched nonischemic CRVO patients and 120 age and sex matched healthy control subjects. RESULTS: Homocysteine level was significantly increased in the patients with ischemic CRVO in comparison with nonischemic CRVO patients (p = 0.009) and also in comparison with control subjects (p < 0.001). Analysis also showed that hyperhomocysteinemia was associated with increased incidence of ischemic CRVO (odds ratio, 18) than that for nonischemic CRVO (odds ratio, 4.5). Serum vitamin B12 and folate levels were significantly lower (p < 0.001) in CRVO patients compared to the control but were not significantly different between nonischemic and ischemic CRVO patients (p > 0.1). CONCLUSIONS: Hyperhomocysteinemia can be regarded as useful in differentiating nonischemic and ischemic CRVO during the early acute phase in absence of local and systemic disease in the elderly adult (age >50 years) population.
Acute Disease ; Aged ; Biomarkers/*blood ; Case-Control Studies ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hyperhomocysteinemia/blood/*complications/diagnosis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Retinal Vein Occlusion/complications/*diagnosis ; Time Factors

PURPOSE: To evaluate plasma pentraxin 3 (PTX3) in patients with retinal vein occlusion (RVO), and investigate the possibility of its role as a predictive biomarker. METHODS: Nested case-control study. The study included 57 patients with RVO and 45 age- and gender-matched subjects without RVO as controls. Plasma PTX3 and C-reactive protein concentration were measured in both groups a posteriori from frozen samples by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. RESULTS: The measured PTX3 value for the RVO group was 1,508 +/- 1,183 pg/mL (mean +/- standard deviation) and 833 +/- 422 pg/mL for the controls (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in PTX3 levels between patients with central retinal vein occlusion and branched retinal vein occlusion (1,468 +/- 1,300 vs. 1,533 +/- 1,121 pg/mL; p = 0.818). CONCLUSIONS: Our data seems to support the role of chronic inflammation and ischemia in the development of RVO. It is possible that PTX3 can be used as a diagnostic biomarker of RVO.
Acute-Phase Proteins/metabolism ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Biomarkers/*blood ; C-Reactive Protein/*metabolism ; Case-Control Studies ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retinal Vein Occlusion/*blood/diagnosis ; Serum Amyloid P-Component/*metabolism