ObjectiveTo measure the macular retinal thickness of middle-aged and elderly myopic patients and examine the correlations between the macular retinal thickness and the axial length (AL), diopter, corrected visual acuity and gender. Methods Eight-five middle-aged and elderly myopic patients (96 eyes), including 43 females (52 eyes) and 42 males (44 eyes), with an average age of 63±6 years, were enrolled in this study. All subjects underwent a full ophthalmic examination including visual acuity, intraocular pressure, slit lamp, indirect ophthalmoscopy, OCT, refraction and diopter and A-scan ultrasound biometry. The patients were divided into three groups according to the AL and spherical equivalent degree (SED) that stands for diopter, including low and intermediate myopia group, high myopia group and super high myopia group. There were no significant differences in age (χ2=1.875), gender (χ2=0.667) and right/left eye distribution (χ2=0.375) among the 3 groups (P > 0.05), and significant differences were found in the AL (F=345.75), SED (F=239.05) and corrected visual acuity (F=3.679) among the 3 groups of patients (P < 0.05). SD-OCT was used to measure the total average macular thickness (TR), central subfield thickness, and the retina thickness in 4 quadrants of the inner and outer ring (IR/OR) of macular. Correlation between AL, SED, and corrected visual acuity with macular TR was analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis. Independent-Sample Test was used in TR comparison in different sex-group and macular retina area. ResultsThe retinal thickness of all the macular regions, except those at inferior and superior inner ring of macular, was significantly different among the 3 groups (F=6.794, 10.155, 5.861, 6.692, 12.081, 10.729, 5.137; P < 0.05).The retinal thickness of IR, OR and TR was significantly different among the 3 groups(F=7.370, 17.939, 15.553; P < 0.05). Superior inner macular thickness had no correlations with both AL and SED (r=-0.103, -0.098; P > 0.05). Inferior inner macular thickness had no correlations with AL, but had negative correlations with SED (r=-0.203, P < 0.05). The central subfield thickness (t=-2.082), temporal inner macular thickness (t=-2.564), superior inner thickness (t=-2.958), average inner macular thickness (t=-2.777) and TR (t=-2.400) was lower in females compared to males, and significant differences were existed (P < 0.05). ConclusionsIn our study, middle-aged and elderly myopic patients featured generally thinner macular retinal thickness, and the central subfield thickness, temporary and nasal inner macular thickness and all the quadrants of outer macular thickness was decreased significantly. Females are characterized by thinner central subfield thickness, inner macular thickness and total average macular thickness compared to males.
ObjectiveTo study morphological characteristics and microRNA (miR) expression profiling in a mouse model of oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR). MethodsHealthy C57BL/6J female mice and pups were randomly divided into normal and OIR group at postnatal day 7 (P7). The normal group was raised in a conventional cage and exposed to room air for 10 days. The OIR group was raised in a sealed chamber and exposed to (75±2)% oxygen. The moms were alternated between the two groups every day to promote their survival under hyperoxia. The OIR group was returned to the room air at P12. At P17, mice from either group were retro-orbitally injected with high molecular weight fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran (FITC-dextran), the eye balls were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde, and the retinal whole mounts were prepared. The retinal vessels labeled with FITC-dextran were observed under a fluorescence microscope; the eye balls were also processed for paraffin sections and Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) staining. The cell nucleus in the newly-formed vessels beyond the inner limiting membrane was quantified. The miR was extracted from the eyes, reverse transcribed, and subjected to a customized miR array analysis. The real-time PCR was preformed to verify the results of the miR array. ResultsRetinal whole mounts labeled with FITC-dextran showed that the peripheral retinal microvessels in the OIR group were tortuous, disorganized with neovascular buds, and the avascular area was prominent in central retina. In contrast, the vessels were smooth, organized, and evenly distributed in the retinas of normal group. The percentage of avascular area in total retina area in OIR group (25.81±2.12)% was 4-fold that in normal group (6.57±3.6)% (P < 0.01, normal group vs OIR group). H & E staining showed that the number of the cell nuclei beyond inner limiting membrane was (28.41±4.01) in OIR retina, which was substantially higher than that (0.16±0.31) in normal retina (P < 0.01, normal group vs OIR group). More interestingly, the results of miR array showed that 21 out of the 80 miRs examined exhibited more than 1.5-fold changes at expression level. Among these 21 miRs, 9 were up-regulated, 12 were down-regulated; 4 miRs showed more than 3-fold expression changes, 3 were down-regulated and 1 was up-regulated. The expression of the 4 miRs was verified by real-time PCR. The expression trends of miR-3078, miR-140, miR-29b and miR-29c were consistent with those revealed by the miR array. MiR-3078 was significantly up-regulated (t=-2.380, P < 0.05. normal group vs OIR group), and the other 3 miRs were significantly down-regulated (t=2.638, 2.323, 2.415, P < 0.05. normal group vs OIR group). ConclusionsThe OIR mouse model has been established in our study. Differential expression of the microRNAs, including miR-3078, 140, 29b and 29c, was detected in normal and OIR mouse retinas. These miR expression changes may be associated with retinal neovascularization. These results would provide the new leads for further studying pathogenic mechanisms and therapeutic targets for neovascular retinopathy.