Use of the Inferior Whorl for Detecting Age-Related Changes in Human Corneal Subbasal Nerve Plexus with Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of aging on the corneal subbasal nerve plexus (SNP) by employing a wide-field mapping technique of composite images, scanned at the location of a distinctive spiraled subbasal nerve pattern located 1-2 mm inferior to the corneal apex (the inferior whorl) for SNP structural quantification. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Central corneal tactile sensitivity (CCTS) and inferior whorl length (IWL) were compared among individuals in 3 age-groups (20-39 years, 40-59 years, and 60-79 years). Statistical analyses constituted the Kruskal-Wallis test, one-way analysis of variance (with the post hoc least significant difference test), Spearman correlation coefficient, and linear regression analysis. RESULTS: CCTS remained stable until the age of 50 years, when it began to decrease; the mean CCTS was 58.15 ± 2.46 mm in the group aged 20-39 years, 55.74 ± 3.85 mm in the group aged 40-59 years, and 50.23 ± 3.27 mm in the group aged 60-79 years. IWL decreased with increasing age, with a corresponding linear decline of 0.2088 mm/mm2 per year, and the mean IWL was 25.43 ± 4.50 mm/mm2 in the group aged 20-39 years, 22.71 ± 6.19 mm/mm2 in the group aged 40-59 years, and 18.60 ± 4.21 mm/mm2 in the group aged 60-79 years. CONCLUSION: Our work provided a more accurate and repeatable method for corneal nerve analysis using laser scanning confocal microscopy. By using this technique, we confirmed that aging is associated with progressive reduction in subbasal nerve length.

Effects of drug combination on optic disc parameters and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness of high intraocular pressure type POAG patients / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

·AIM:To study the effects of timolol and latanoprost on optic disc parameters and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness of high intraocular pressure type POAG patients, and to provide guidance for clinical research.·METHODS: Totally 240 patients ( 336 eyes ) with high intraocular pressure type POAG in our hospital from November 2013 to November 2015 were randomly divided into control group and observation group, and each with a total of 120 cases (170 and 166 eyes, respectively). The patients in control group only received latanoprost treatment, while the observation group was treated with timolol and latanoprost treatment. After 3mo of treatment, we observed the therapeutic effects, and measured the optic disc parameters and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness. The incidence of adverse reactions was observed in the following 1a.·RESULTS: The patients of observation group and the control group after treatment showed the improvement rates of 97. 6% and 80. 6%, respectively, and the observation group was significantly better than the control group, the two groups showed statistically significant (P<0. 05). The eye rim area, rim volume, rim volume and diameter of two groups after treatment were higher than before ( P < 0. 05 ) , while those of the observation group was significantly higher than control group ( P<0. 05 ) . Two groups of patients with vertical cup to disc diameter decreased obviously ( P<0. 05 ) , the observation group was significantly lower than the control group, the difference was statistically significant ( P<0. 05 ) . Between the two groups of patients, during the period, incidences of dry eyes, corneal and conjunctival hyperemia, infiltration blurred vision and other complications had no significant difference ( P>0. 05), and the 1a follow-up of patients showed no other adverse reactions.·CONCLUSION: The use of timolol and latanoprost therapy for high intraocular pressure type POAG patients showed that the patients improve obviously, the visual acuity has more improved and the parameters of optic disc and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness are also improved.