Evaluation of sFLT1 protein levels in human eyes with the FLT1 rs9943922 polymorphism.

Purpose: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a devastating disease characterized by central vision impairment in individuals with advanced age. Neovascular AMD is a form of end-stage disease in which choroidal vessel outgrowth occurs beneath the retina. While many hypotheses have been raised as to what triggers the formation of pathological choroidal neovascular membranes, the exact mechanism for their initiation remains unresolved.

Primary congenital and developmental glaucomas.

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Although most glaucoma patients are elderly, congenital glaucoma and glaucomas of childhood are also important causes of visual disability. Primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) is isolated, non-syndromic glaucoma that occurs in the first three years of life and is a major cause of childhood blindness.

Transgenic TBK1 mice have features of normal tension glaucoma.

Duplication of the TBK1 gene is associated with 1-2% of normal tension glaucoma, a common cause of vision loss and blindness that occurs without grossly abnormal intraocular pressure. We generated a transgenic mouse that has one copy of the human TBK1 gene (native promoter and gene structure) incorporated into the mouse genome (Tg-TBK1). Expression of the TBK1 transgene in the retinae of these mice was demonstrated by real-time PCR.

Quantitative measurement of retinal ganglion cell populations via histology-based random forest classification.

The inner surface of the retina contains a complex mixture of neurons, glia, and vasculature, including retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), the final output neurons of the retina and primary neurons that are damaged in several blinding diseases. The goal of the current work was two-fold: to assess the feasibility of using computer-assisted detection of nuclei and random forest classification to automate the quantification of RGCs in hematoxylin/eosin (H&E)-stained retinal whole-mounts; and if possible, to use the approach to examine how nuclear size influences disease susceptibility among RGC populations. To achieve this, data from RetFM-J, a semi-automated ImageJ-based module that detects, counts, and collects quantitative data on nuclei of H&E-stained whole-mounted retinas, were used in conjunction with a manually curated set of images to train a random forest classifier.

RetFM-J, an ImageJ-based module for automated counting and quantifying features of nuclei in retinal whole-mounts.

The present article introduces RetFM-J, a semi-automated ImageJ-based module that detects, counts, and collects quantitative data on nuclei of the inner retina from H&E-stained whole-mounted retinas. To illustrate performance, computer-derived outputs were analyzed in inbred C57BL/6J mice. Automated characterization yielded computer-derived outputs that closely matched manual counts.

Neuroprotection supports signal processing in the hippocampus of Syrian hamsters, a facultative hibernator.

Studies on several species of mammalian seasonal hibernators (those hibernating only in winter) show that their neurons are more tolerant to hypoxia than those in non-hibernating species. Such tolerance has not been studied in facultative hibernators [e.g.