Effectiveness of heparin eye drops in paraquat-induced ocular injury.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of heparin eye drops in the treatment of paraquat-induced ocular surface injury. DESIGN AND METHODS: In this retrospective study, we included 25 patients (31 eyes) with paraquat-induced ocular surface injury, who attended the Affiliated Hospital of Weifang Medical University between October 2008 and October 2013. The patients were split into two groups according to whether or not received heparin eye drops. The clinical data were compared between the two groups, i.e. clinical histories, results of examinations, treatments and outcomes. RESULTS: Eleven patients (group A, 15 eyes) received prompt irrigation with 0.9% saline every two hours, 0.1% pranoprofen eye drops four times a day, 20% autologous serum every two hours, recombinant bovine basic fibroblast growth factor eye-gel two times a day, oral vitamin C 2.0 g and prednisone 30 mg daily. Fourteen patients (group B, 16 eyes) received additional treatment with heparin eye drops. Ten eyes in group A and seven eyes in group B developed a pseudomembrane on the ocular surface at significantly different rate (mean ± SD) of 1.20 ± 1.01 and 0.43 ± 0.51, respectively (t = 2.66, p = 0.01). Seven eyes among 10 had a pseudomembrane reoccurred in group A while none had a pseudomembrane reoccurred in group B (Fisher's exact test, p = 0.01). No significant differences were seen in the duration of epithelial recovery between the two groups: 15.13 ± 5.13 days in group A and 16.81 ± 5.56 days in group B (t = 0.87, p = 0.39). After the treatment, mild corneal opacity and pannus were observed in five patients of group A and four patients of group B, without any significant difference between the two groups (p = 0.70). CONCLUSIONS: The paraquat-induced ocular surface injury observed in this case series was characterized by the formation of conjunctival pseudomembrane with good prognosis and mild complications. Heparin eye drops reduce the occurrence, especially the reoccurrence of pseudomembrane. Further studies are warranted.

The clinical characteristics of alcohol-related ocular rupture.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the characteristics and outcomes of drunken patients treated for ocular rupture, and to compare these results to patients injured without alcohol consumption. DESIGN AND METHODS: The medical records of 182 patients with or without alcohol consumption before injury who were treated and followed up because of ocular rupture at the Affiliated Hospital of Weifang Medical University from October 2007 to October 2011 were evaluated retrospectively. The characteristics and outcomes of 45 alcohol-related injury patients were compared with the rest in the cohort. The clinical data included in this study were: anatomic sites and length of the wound, involvement of ocular adnexa injuries, evisceration rate, and final mean visual acuity. RESULTS: Wound locations were significantly different between the alcohol-related group and the non-alcohol-related one. Compared with the non-alcohol-related ocular rupture population, the anatomic sites of the drunken patients were more likely to be located at zone I and zone II (60.0 vs 40.1 %; χ2 = 5.39,P < 0.05). The difference of wound length between the alcohol-related group and the non-alcohol-related one was significant. The alcohol-related patients had a longer wound length (Z = -8.590,P < 0.05). Compared with the non-alcohol population, the alcohol-consuming patients were more likely to suffer adnexa injuries (84.4 vs 59.8 %; χ2 = 5.86,P < 0.05), and had worse final visual acuities (Z = -7.195,P < 0.05). The evisceration rate of the alcohol-related patients was significantly higher than the non-alcohol patients (24.4 vs 9.4 %; χ2 = 6.62,P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Drinking more easily leads to injury of the front part of eyes. Moreover, the drunken patients had a worse visual acuity outcome, longer wound length, higher evisceration rate, and were more prone to endure adnexa injuries. The importance of prevention and education to recognize the hazards of drinking cannot be overemphasized.

Changes of scleral structures and biomechanical properties in the process of sclera post embryonic development / 医用生物力学

Objective To investigate the changes of morphological structures and biomechanical properties of scleral tissues in rabbits at different month ages. Methods The eyeballs of 1, 2 and 3 month-old New Zealand white rabbits were obtained for measuring the diameter and axial length, and the thickness of scleral tissues. Part of the scleral tissues was used to observe scleral structures with HE staining, some other part was used to observe collagen fibrils by electron microscope, and the left part were cut into strips and used to test the elastic modulus of the sclera on Instron 5544 system. Results The diameter, axial length of eyeballs and the thickness of the sclera were increased with month age. The elastic modulus of scleral tissues was also increased with month age. The numbers of scleral fibroblasts were decreased and the numbers of fiber bundles were increased with month age. The diameters of collagen fibrils were increased with month age. Conclusions In the post-embryonic stages, the structures of eyeball and sclera are changed continually, with growing numbers of thicker collagen fibers, and the biomechanical properties of scleral tissues are improved correspondingly. The mechanism of post-embryonic development in sclera is further explained in the study, which can provide theoretical guidance for prevention of sclera-related diseases.

Sequential changes of HIF-1αprotein and mRNA in hypoxic bovine retinal microvessel endothelial cells / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

● AIM: To investigate the sequential changes of HIF-1 α Protein and mRNA in hypoxic bovine retinal microvessel endothelial cells.● METHODS: The bovine retinal microvessel endothelial cells were cultured in normoxic and CoCl2-induced hypoxic conditions respectively. Expressions of HIF-1 α Protein were measured with immunohistochemical staining, and RT-PCR was used to determine the HIF-1 α mRNA.● RESULTS: HIF-1 α began to increase 1h after hypoxia,and reached the peak at 4h. After 16h, it declined significantly. Compared with the normoxic group, the expression of HIF-1 α protein in the hypoxic groups had significant difference (P＜0.01), and HIF-1 α mRNA expression was unchanged under hypoxia.● CONCLUSION: HIF-1 α participates in the hypoxic procedures in retinal microvessel endothelial cells, and hypoxia induce time-dependent changes of HIF-1 α protein expression, which is not modulated on the transcription level. Analysis of HIF-1 α expression revealed a temporal and spatial changes with regard to the hyperoxic repression, indicating that HIF-1 may play a major role in the development of retinopathy of prematurity and other ischemic retinal disorders such as diabetic retinopathy.