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INTRODUCTION: To date few studies have investigated the correlation between inflammatory markers and lipoproteins in the serum of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) patients, often reporting conflicting findings. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between lipid analytes and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in individuals diagnosed with dry AMD. METHODS: A standard clinical lipid panel (total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein [HDL], and low-density lipoproteins) and CRP laboratory results were retrospectively collected from the medical records of patients with dry AMD and age- and sex-matched controls. RESULTS: The study included 90 patients with dry AMD and 270 patients without AMD. In univariate analysis, CRP showed a higher mean value in cases than in controls. After adjusting for age and sex, CRP and triglyceride levels showed significant differences between cases and controls. Pearson's correlation analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between CRP and HDL levels in the dry AMD group (n=90). Other lipid analytes showed no significant correlations with CRP. CONCLUSION: Our findings add to the growing body of evidence linking inflammation to AMD. Although it is unclear whether changes in serum CRP and triglyceride levels are the causes or effects, monitoring both analytes may be beneficial as an early disease predictor, especially in individuals with a family history of AMD. The negative correlation between CRP and HDL (i.e., inflammation and good cholesterol) may be targeted for future therapies.
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Background Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia. Globally, 382 million people have diabetes mellitus, and 90% of these patients suffer from type 2 diabetes. Saudi Arabia has the second-highest prevalence of diabetes among all Middle Eastern countries. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a significant complication of diabetes; early detection and proper intervention are important for its management and prognosis. Aim This study aims to assess the awareness of diabetic patients of diabetic retinopathy symptoms and complications in the western region of Saudi Arabia. Methods This is a cross-sectional study in which a convenience sampling technique was implemented for collecting data from all patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria within the timeframe between February 2022 and October 2022 among diabetic patients at the National Guard Health Affairs in the western region. We included both type 1 and type 2 diabetic participants who are older than 18 years of age and have at least one visit to any outpatient ophthalmology clinic. Results This study involved 259 participants. The mean age of the participants is 46.69 (standard deviation {SD}: 15.59). Type 2 was more prevalent among the applicants (58.3%). A total of 242 (93%) participants were aware that diabetes could affect their eyes. Surprisingly, 130 (50.2%) do not know about diabetic retinopathy therapy options. The most significant obstacle to being examined early for ophthalmological diseases among diabetic patients was the deficient knowledge of diabetic retinopathy. Also, a significant statistical relationship was found between the year of diagnosis and the level of awareness regarding eye complications. Conclusion Despite the high level of awareness of diabetic retinopathy among diabetic patients shown in our study, it did not correspond to a high level of self-awareness on the importance of preventive measures such as annual diabetic retinopathy screening.
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Cytomegalovirus retinitis (CMVR) commonly affects immunocompromised individuals, including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), post-organ transplant recipients and allogeneic stem cell transplant recipients. CMVR occurring in the acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) maintenance phase of chemotherapy is rare and has been described in the literature as isolated case reports or case series. We report a case of unilateral CMVR in a pediatric patient during maintenance phase therapy for ALL. A 14-year-old boy known case of T-cell ALL with CNS2a status, was treated according to the Children's Oncology Group (COG) AALL0434 protocol. Induction therapy consisted of the standard high-risk four drugs, in addition to intrathecal methotrexate. At week 166 of maintenance therapy, the child presented with painless progressive loss of vision in the right eye for one week. The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of the right eye was 6/36 and the left eye was 6/6. Dilated fundus examination of the right eye showed multiple large yellow-white cloudy chorioretinal lesions with areas of intraretinal hemorrhages in the macula, and overlaying focal vitritis. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) of the right eye showed macular edema and mild subretinal fluid. Cytomegalovirus polymerase chain reaction of the blood was detected with high quantitative value. A diagnosis of CMVR was made and an induction doses of intravenous ganciclovir was followed by maintenance doses of oral valganciclovir. Our case suggests that pediatric patients with ALL in the maintenance phase are considered immunocompromised and that physicians should be aware of CMVR incidence in such group. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment are important to preserve vision and prevent future visual morbidity.
