Glaucoma in rural China (the Rural Epidemiology for Glaucoma in China (REG-China)): a national cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of glaucoma with associated factors in the rural populations of 10 provinces in China. DESIGN: A population-based cross-sectional study. METHODS: All participants aged 6 years or older from 10 provinces completed visual acuity testing, slit-lamp examination, ophthalmoscopy and non-contact tonometry. Glaucoma suspects underwent fundus photography, Goldmann applanation tonometry, visual field testing and gonioscopy. Glaucoma was determined according to the International Society of Geographical and Epidemiological Ophthalmology classification scheme. Associations of demographics and medical factors with glaucoma were assessed using multiple logistic regression models. RESULTS: From June 2017 to October 2018, 48 398 of 52 041 participants were included in the final analyses. The age-standardised prevalence of glaucoma was 1.7% (95% CI 1.55% to 1.78%) among the participants older than 6 years, which was 2.1% (95% CI 1.93% to 2.23%) in participants aged over 40 years. The constituent ratios of glaucoma were: 44.4% primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG), 34.7% primary open-angle glaucoma, 2.6% congenital glaucoma and 18.3% other types of glaucoma. Increasing age, smoking, cerebral stroke, type 2 diabetes, higher education (college or more) and higher personal income were significant risk factors for PACG. The unilateral and bilateral blindness rates in the entire study population were 4.692% and 1.068%, respectively. A family history of glaucoma was a significant risk factor for the prevalence of glaucoma and blindness in at least one eye. CONCLUSIONS: Rural populations have a high prevalence of glaucoma, which should be included in chronic disease management programmes in China for long-term care.

Risk Factors for Band Keratopathy in Aphakic Eyes With Silicone Oil Tamponade for Open-Globe Injuries: A Multicenter Case-Control Study.

Band keratopathy (BK) is a common complication in aphakic eyes with silicone oil tamponade for open-globe injury (OGI), characterized by the grayish-white opacities in the cornea, resulting in a significantly decreased vision when extending to the visual axis. To identify the risk factors for BK in aphakic eyes following vitreoretinal surgical treatment with silicone oil tamponade for OGIs, we performed a multicenter case-control study. The incidence of BK was 28% (28/100 eyes). The multivariate binary logistic regression revealed the silicone oil retention time (SORT) ≥6 months and zone III injury were significant risk factors for BK. From the hierarchical interaction, SORT ≥6 months had a significant risk for BK in eyes with rupture, aniridia, and zone III injury, while zone III injury had a significant risk for BK in eyes with rupture, incomplete/complete iris, and SORT ≥6 months. By using restricted cubic splines with three knots at the 25th, 50th, and 75th centiles to model the association of SORT with BK, we also found a marked increase in the risk for BK at ≥10 months and a slow increase after 6 months, but almost stable within 4-6 months.

[Experimental study on treatment of rabbits optic nerve injury with Caspase-3 inhibitor z-DEVD-fmk].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of caspase-3 inhibitor z-DEVD-fmk on optic nerve injury of rabbits. METHODS: It was an experimental study. Two to three month-old rabbits were used in this study. The rabbit model of optic nerve injury was created by fluid percussion brain injury device (FPI). DMSO (5 µl 2% solution) was injected intravitreally to the left eyes (control group). Caspase-3 inhibitor z-DEVD-fmk (5 µl) was injected intravitreally to the right eyes (experimental group). Flash-visual evoked potential (F-VEP) and histopathological examination of the retina were used to check the variations in optic nerve injury at 1, 4, 7, 10, 14, and 21 days after the treatment. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of caspase-3 in the retina. T-test, variance analysis, q-test and linear correlation analysis were used to analyze these data. RESULTS: At the 7th day after treatment, the latency of F-VEP P1 in experimental group was shorter than that in the control group [(90.50±7.61) ms vs (113.59±12.92) ms, t=4.060, P<0.05] and the number of retinal ganglion cells (RGC) in the experimental group was greater than that in the control group (237.62±8.50 vs 207.03±11.04, t=-5.843, P<0.05). Both of these trends continued to the 21st day after treatment [(67.97±7.93) ms vs. (134.22±8.50) ms, t=13.950, P<0.05; 156.32±8.45 vs. 207.13±12.21, t=-10.307, P<0.05]. The absorbency (A) of caspase-3 in the experimental group (0.396±0.023) was lower than that in the control group (0.458±0.024) and this difference was statistically significant (t=6.200, P<0.05) at the 7th day after treatment. The latency of F-VEP P1 and the absorbency of caspase-3 in the retina were positively correlated with each other (r=0.95, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: z-DEVD-fmk is effective in treating rabbit optic nerve injury by inhibiting the expression of caspase-3 in the retina. It can promote the recovery of optic nerve function.