ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To compare the pterygium recurrence rates after treatment with two different ß-radiation doses. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A total of 84 patients with a mean age of 63.0±10.3 years (men, 48 eyes, and women, 47 eyes) and initially treated with ß-radiation after pterygium excision were recruited. The mean follow-up period was 49.9±51.3 months. The patients were assigned to two dose groups: a high-dose (40 Gy) or a low-dose (20 Gy) group. The statistical significance of differences in patient age, pterygium size, and interval between surgery and radiotherapy were analyzed in the 20-Gy group using the Cox proportional hazard model at p<.05. RESULTS: The high- and low-dose groups included 28 and 67 eyes, respectively. Pterygia recurred in 11 eyes, all in the low-dose group. The interval between surgery and radiotherapy was not a significant predictor of recurrence. Smaller pterygia had a lower risk of recurrence than pterygia that had encroached the pupillary area (pterygium located within one-third of the corneal radius from the limbus, corrected hazard ratio [HR], 0.069; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.006-0.766; p=.030; pterygium extending beyond one-third of the corneal radius, corrected HR, 0.188; 95% CI, 0.018-0.696; p=0.019; and pterygium reaching the pupillary area, corrected HR, 0.184; 95% CI, 0.036-0.929; p=.040). Older age was marginally significant as a negative predictor of recurrence (HR, 0.943; 95% CI, 0.887-1.003; p=.061). No scleromalacia developed during the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: ß-Radiation at 40 Gy was more efficacious than at 20 Gy in preventing pterygium recurrence without scleromalacia development, particularly for large-size pterygia and those in young patients.
Subject(s)
Beta Particles/therapeutic use , Pterygium/radiotherapy , Adult , Age Factors , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Confidence Intervals , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Proportional Hazards Models , Pterygium/pathology , Pterygium/prevention & control , Pterygium/surgery , Radiotherapy Dosage , Retrospective Studies , Secondary PreventionABSTRACT
To identify and determine the function of the proteins associated with the death of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in DBA/2J mice, an animal model of glaucoma, retinas of DBA/2J mice, were analyzed by proteomics at 5-, 7-, and 11-months-of-age. The proteins showing significant alterations were selected for identification by MS and 18 proteins were differentially expressed and the identified proteins included cell membrane receptors and proteins associated with intracellular signaling pathways. Among of identified proteins, the expression of Integrin beta7 at 7-months-of-age was decreased by about 89% of that at 5-months-of-age. Integrin beta7 was expressed in the RGCs. The effect of glutamate toxicity on the expression pattern of Integrin beta7 in a RGC line was also investigated and the glutamate-induced death of RGC was inhibited by the RNA knockdown of Integrin beta7. Our data showed also that the expression of 18 proteins in the DBA/2J was significantly altered in DBA2 mice and down-regulation of Integrin beta7 may have a protective effect on glutamate-induced death of RGCs.
Subject(s)
Down-Regulation , Integrin beta Chains/metabolism , Retinal Ganglion Cells/cytology , Retinal Ganglion Cells/metabolism , Animals , Female , Integrin beta Chains/genetics , Mice , Mice, Inbred DBA , Mice, Inbred ICR , Proteomics , RNA, Small Interfering/geneticsABSTRACT
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes of blindness among older adults in developed countries and also in Japan. Previous research suggests that AMD is etiologically a complex disease, caused by multiple genes and environmental factors. Association studies have identified that a complement factor H gene (CFH) variant is a major risk factor for AMD in Caucasians. However, we and two other groups have reported no association between CFH and AMD in the Japanese population. Recent studies have suggested that LOC387715 on chromosome 10q26 may be the second major risk loci for AMD in Caucasians. In this study, we examined the association between LOC387715 and AMD in Japanese, and our results show that polymorphism of the LOC387715 gene is associated with AMD in Japanese as well as in Caucasians. Our data show a disease odds ratio of 6.20 (95% CI: 2.87-13.40) conferred by homozygosity for risk alleles at LOC387715 compared with the non-risk genotype. A polymorphism of LOC387715 gene is associated with AMD in the Japanese population.
