[The impact of augmented reality glasses on human visual efficiency and digital eye fatigue].

Objective: To investigate the differences in reading efficiency and visual fatigue between the use of augmented reality (AR) glasses and laptops. Methods: A prospective self-controlled study was conducted. Healthy students from Capital Medical University who frequently engaged in long-term near work and used laptops and other digital display devices were recruited as subjects at Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University between November 1 and November 15, 2023. LogMAR visual acuity, visual functions (accommodation, convergence, and fusion), and visual fatigue scores (Likert visual fatigue scale) of the participants were assessed. The order of using the laptop and AR glasses for each participant was determined by a coin toss. Reading efficiency (reading speed and error rate multiplied by the detection rate of incorrect numbers) with different devices for 10 minutes at the same time on different dates and visual fatigue scores after watching a 20-minute video were measured. Statistical analyses were performed using paired t-tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Results: A total of 20 eligible subjects were included, comprising 7 males and 13 females, with a mean age of (25.45±2.27) years. There was no significant change in binocular visual acuity before and after using AR glasses and laptops (both P>0.05). The reading speed and reading efficiency of using AR glasses [(34.03±9.25) and (29.19±7.62) digits/min, respectively] were significantly lower than those of using laptops [(39.43±10.36) and (35.67±9.87) digits/min, respectively] (t=4.36, P<0.001), while the difference in error detection rate was not statistically significant (t=1.29, P=0.213). There was no statistically significant difference in visual fatigue scores before watching videos with the two devices (Z=-0.71, P=0.480). However, the visual fatigue score after watching videos with AR glasses [(20.55±5.04) points] was significantly higher than that with laptops [16.50 (13.00, 19.75) points] (Z=-2.85, P=0.004). The visual fatigue scores after watching videos with both devices were significantly higher than before (P<0.05), with a more significant increase observed with AR glasses [(6.05±3.50) points] (Z=-3.41, P<0.001). Conclusion: Compared with using laptops, the reading speed and efficiency were lower, and the visual fatigue was more pronounced with the use of AR glasses at the current technical level. Further optimization and improvement of AR glasses are warranted.

Association of IL33 and IL1RAP Polymorphisms With Acute Anterior Uveitis.

BACKGROUND: AAU (acute anterior uveitis) is the most common entity of uveitis characterized by acute vision loss and violent sore eyes. IL-33 and IL-1RacP have been found to play crucial roles in the innate immune system. OBJECTIVE: In the present study, we investigated the association of IL33 and IL1RAP genes with AAU. METHOD: A total of 549 AAU patients and 1080 unrelated healthy controls were recruited for this study. Ten single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped using Sequenom Mass ARRAY technology. RESULTS: Our findings demonstrated that IL1RAP-rs3773978 significantly associated with AAU and could serve as a genetic risk marker in Chinese AAU patients. A significantly increased frequency of the A allele and AA homozygosity of IL1RAP-rs3773978 was observed in AAU patients compared with that in controls (p=0.001, pc=0.01, OR=1.282, 95% CI 1.106 to 1.487; p=0.0003, pc=0.003, OR=1.647, 95% CI 1.255 to 2.163, respectively). Further stratification analyses showed that the genetic correlation may differ depending on HLA-B27 status, AS (ankylosing spondylitis) status, attack times and laterality status. CONCLUSION: Our findings provide new insights that enhance the current knowledge of uveitis genetics by demonstrating the specific functional roles of IL1RAP and other IL-1 family genes in uveitis.

Upregulation of GADD45α in light-damaged retinal pigment epithelial cells.

To better understand the molecular mechanisms responsible for light-induced damage in retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells, we developed an automated device to recapitulate intense light exposure. When compared with human fibroblasts, ARPE-19 cells that had been exposed to blue-rich light-emitting diode-light of 10 000 Lux at 37 °C for 9 h displayed dramatic cellular apoptosis. Collectively, gene expression profiling and qPCR demonstrated that growth arrest and DNA damage-45α (GADD45α) expression was markedly upregulated. Transient knockdown of GADD45α partially attenuated light-damage-induced apoptosis in ARPE-19 cells, whereas GADD45α overexpression dramatically increased it. These results demonstrate the critical function of GADD45α in light-induced RPE cellular apoptosis. Quantitative reverse transcription-PCR and western blotting revealed that the upregulation of GADD45α was under direct control of p53. Moreover, treatment with Ly294002, an inhibitor of AKT phosphorylation, further promoted GADD45α gene transcription in both non-light and light-damaged ARPE-19 cells. Treatment also exacerbated RPE cellular apoptosis after light exposure, confirming that inhibition of Akt phosphorylation increases GADD45α expression. Collectively, our findings reveal that light irrigation induces human RPE cellular apoptosis through upregulation of GADD45α expression mediated through both the p53 and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-AKT signaling pathways. These results provide new insights into human retinal diseases elicited by light damage and open a new avenue for disease prevention and treatment.

Association of CD59 and CFH polymorphisms with acute anterior uveitis in Chinese population.

PurposeCD59 complement regulator and complement factor H (CFH) have important roles in complement activation pathways, which are known to affect the development of uveitis. The present study was performed to investigate whether an association exists between CD59 and CFH genetic polymorphisms and acute anterior uveitis (AAU).MethodsA total of 600 individuals (300 patients diagnosed with AAU and 300 healthy controls) were recruited for this case-control study. Five single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CD59 (rs831626, rs12272807, rs831625, rs11585, and rs12576440) and CFH-rs1065489 were genotyped using Sequenom MassARRAY technology. Allele and genotype frequencies were statistically compared between patients and controls using χ2 test. Analyses were stratified for gender, human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B27, and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) status.ResultsNo significant association was found between any of the six polymorphisms and AAU. In HLA-B27-negative AAU patients, the frequencies of the G allele and GG homozygosity were lower in CD59-rs831626 when compared with controls (P=0.032). There were also significant decreases in the frequencies of T allele and TT homozygosity in CFH-rs1065489 in AAU patients with AS compared with controls (P=0.002). Furthermore, the frequencies of the T allele and TT homozygosity in CFH-rs1065489 were lower in the AAU male patients with AS compared with controls (P=0.015).ConclusionOur results revealed that SNPs CD59-rs831626 and CFH-rs1065489 were associated with the susceptibility of AAU. The influence on AAU could be gender specific and dependent on the HLA-B27 and AS status. No positive results were found in the overall group.

Identifying pathogenic genetic background of simplex or multiplex retinitis pigmentosa patients: a large scale mutation screening study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: More than half of the retinitis pigmentosa (RP) cases are genetically simplex or multiplex. To date, 37 causative genes of RP have been identified; however, the elucidation of gene defects in simplex or multiplex RP patients/families remains problematic. The aim of our study was to identify the genetic causes of RP in patients with unknown or non-Mendelian inheritance. METHODS AND RESULTS: Since 2003, 52 simplex RP patients, 151 patients from 141 multiplex RP families, and six sporadic patients with retinal degeneration were studied. A total of 108 exons of 30 RP-causing genes that harboured the reported mutations were screened by an efficient denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (dHPLC) based assay. Aberrant fragments were subsequently analysed by automatic sequencing. Twenty-six mutations, including two frameshift mutations, one single amino acid deletion, and 23 missense mutations, were identified in 28 probands (14.07%). Eighteen mutations have not been reported to date. Three pairs of combined mutations in different genes were identified in two sporadic cases and one multiplex family, indicating the possibility of novel digenic patterns. Of the 23 missense mutations, 21 were predicted as deleterious mutations by computational methods using PolyPhen, SIFT, PANTHER, and PMut programs. CONCLUSION: We elucidated the mutation spectrum in Japanese RP patients and demonstrated the validity of the mutation detection system using dHPLC sequencing for genetic diagnosis in RP patients independent of familial incidence, which may provide a model strategy for identifying genetic causes in other diseases linked to a wide range of genes.

Plasma triglyceride-rich lipoprotein remnants as a risk factor of 'Pokkuri disease'.

In our recent report, it remained unclear whether or not triglyceride-rich lipoprotein remnants (RLP) were associated with the risk of sudden coronary death in younger cases without coronary atherosclerosis that were detected in about 10% of all sudden coronary death cases in Japan. These cases were categorized as 'origin unknown, but suspected to be due to coronary spasm', the so called 'pokkuri disease' in Japan. The present study population consisted of 108 sudden death cases without coronary atherosclerosis [(pokkuri disease n=57) and non-cardiac sudden death (control n=51)] aged 20-69 years from Kanagawa prefecture in Japan. All individuals had died suddenly and unexpectedly, most had no significant history of medical conditions including cardiac symptoms and had not taken medications prior to death according to their medical records. All the autopsies were performed within 12 h after death. Plasma total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), phospholipids, RLP-C and RLP-TG, VLDL-C, LDL-C, HDL-C, apolipoproteins A-I, A-II, B, C-II, C-III, E, Lp (a) and homocysteine were measured in postmortem plasma samples. The TG-rich lipoprotein remnants measured as RLP-C and RLP-TG were significantly higher in pokkuri disease compared with controls both in fasting and postprandial states (P<0.05 and P<0.001), indicating that RLP-C and RLP-TG were the most significant risk factor in pokkuri disease among the parameters tested in this study. In conclusion the TG level in RLP (RLP-TG) appeared to be strongly associated with the risk of sudden death in the absence of coronary atherosclerosis (pokkuri disease).