Objective To observe the effects of minocycline to the viability and apoptosis of ratprime;s retinal neuron cells (RNC) under pressure, and to investigate the neuroprotective mechanisms of minocycline against the RNC damage. Methods Establish a model of ratprime;s RNs under pressure cultured in vitro, the protective effect of minocycline is observed by different methods, including observing the morphology of the cells, evaluating the cellsprime; viability by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) colorimetry assay, and detecting the cellular apoptosis with acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) double staining by fluorescence microscopy. Immunocytochemistry was used to detect the expression of iNOS and caspase-3 in the cells. Results Obvious morphology changes of RNC were found in cells under pressure compared with the control; the viability of RNC decreased and cellular apoptosis was found in 53.93% cells. The cellular morphology improved in the cells treated by 20 mu;mol/L minocycline, the cellular viability significantly increased, and the cellular apoptosis was found in 17.29% cells. In addition, the expression of iNOS and caspase3 in the treated cells decreased compared with which in the pressured group. Conclusion Minocycline with a certain concentration can effectively inhibit pressureinduced damage and apoptosis of RNC of rats, and the inhibitory effect on expression of iNOS and capases-3 may be the underlying mechanism.
Objective To investigate the feasibility of using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure the visual axis length in silicone oil filled eyeballs. Methods Thirty-two silicone oil-filled eyes of 32 patients were studied. The antesilicone oil spaces (ASS) and retro-silicone oil spaces (RSS) on the visual axis was measured on the cross-sectional T1 weighted images (T1 WI) and T2WI, the length of the visual axis was measured on the fatsuppressed T2WI. The length of the visual axis was the distance from the corneal vertex to the macular fovea, and it was also measured by A-mode ultrasound in sitting position with different ultrasonic velocity. The postoil gap was also measured by A-mode ultrasound in supine position. Results Compared with the signal of the contralateral vitreous body, the silicone oil signal was higher on T1WI images, lower on T2WI images. After fat suppression, the silicone oil signal and chemical shift artifact were reduced. There were different levels of ASS and RSS in the vitreous cavity of all 32 cases, the RSS depth was (2.47plusmn;1.31) mm on average by MRI. However, RSS was detected in only 56.25% (18 cases)eyeballs by A-mode ultrasound. The visual axis length of silicone oil-filled eyes was (23.52plusmn;4.67) mm by MRI, and (20.57plusmn;5.32) mm by A-mode ultrasound in sitting position. The differences between two measurements was statistically significant (t=30.17, P＜0.05). Conclusions In addition to A-mode ultrasound, MRI might be another effective method to detect RSS and ASS, and to measure the axial length of silicone oil-filled eyes.