Investigative ophthalmology & visual science
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Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. · Aug 2005
Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical TrialPreschool vision screening tests administered by nurse screeners compared with lay screeners in the vision in preschoolers study.
To compare the performance of nurse screeners with that of lay screeners in administering preschool vision screening tests. ⋯ Nurse and lay screeners can achieve similar sensitivity, when specificity is set at 0.90, for detecting preschool children in need of a comprehensive eye examination.
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Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. · Aug 2005
Identification of sequential events and factors associated with microglial activation, migration, and cytotoxicity in retinal degeneration in rd mice.
To elucidate the role of activated microglia in the photoreceptor apoptosis of rd mice by identifying sequential events and factors associated with microglial activation, migration, and cytotoxicity during retinal degeneration. ⋯ Activation of microglia, as well as expression of their signaling molecules (chemokines) and microglia-derived toxic factor (TNF-alpha), coincides with or precedes the occurrence of photoreceptor apoptosis, suggesting activated microglia play a major role in retinal degeneration in rd mice. The chemokines MCP-1, MCP-3, MIP-1alpha, MIP-1beta, and RANTES are involved in activation and recruitment of the microglia to the degenerating photoreceptor cell layer. TNF-alpha, produced by the activated microglia, may accentuate the photoreceptor cell death.
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Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. · Jul 2005
Down-regulation of IFN-gamma-producing CD56+ T cells after combined low-dose cyclosporine/prednisone treatment in patients with Behçet's uveitis.
To investigate the effects of combined low-dose cyclosporine and prednisone (Cs/Pd) treatment on circulating CD56+ T cells in patients with Behçet's uveitis. ⋯ The results imply that Cs/Pd treatment for Behçet's uveitis selectively affects the population of and the cytokine expression in CD56+ T cells, but without significant changes in CD56- T cells, and that IFN-gamma-producing CD56+ T cells are the central pathogenic immune cells in Behçet's uveitis.
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Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. · Jul 2005
Thymosin-beta4 modulates corneal matrix metalloproteinase levels and polymorphonuclear cell infiltration after alkali injury.
Corneal alkali injury is highly caustic, and present clinical therapies are limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate the ability of thymosin-beta4 (Taubeta4) to promote healing in an alkali injury model and the mechanisms involved in that process. ⋯ Tbeta4 treatment decreases corneal inflammation and modulates the MMP/TIMP balance and thereby promotes corneal wound repair and clarity after alkali injury. These results suggest that Tbeta4 may be useful clinically to treat severe inflammation-mediated corneal injuries.
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Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. · May 2005
Time course of neurotrophic factor upregulation and retinal protection against light-induced damage after optic nerve section.
To assess neurotrophic factor upregulation in the retina after damage to the optic nerve and relate that regulation to changes in photoreceptor stability and function. ⋯ The upregulation of CNTF 7 to 14 days after nerve section correlates with a reduction in the a-wave described previously. Colocalization of CNTF and CNTFRalpha on the outer segments suggests that CNTF acts at the photoreceptor membrane. The slower upregulation of FGF-2 correlates with a reduction of the b-wave. FGF-2/FGFR1 colocalization in the OPL suggests that this factor acts at the synaptic terminals of photoreceptors, modulating the release of neurotransmitters. The time course of pERK upregulation suggests that the successive upregulation of CNTF and FGF-2 activates the ERK pathway. Based on the time course of protection against bright continuous light, it seems that CNTF plays a major role in this effect, and FGF-2 has a less important role in the protection against light-induced damage.