RAGE and its ligand amyloid beta promote retinal ganglion cell loss following ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Introduction: Glaucoma is a progressive neurodegenerative disease associated with age. Accumulation of amyloid-beta (Aß) proteins in the ganglion cell layer (GCL) and subsequent retinal ganglion cell (RGC) loss is an established pathological hallmark of the disease. The mechanism through which Aß provokes RGC loss remains unclear.

Uterus transplantation and pregnancy induction: Approved protocol at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

Absolute uterine factor infertility (AUFI) is defined as the absence of a uterus or the presence of a non-functional uterus. Before the first live birth from a uterus transplant in 2014, the only fertility options for women with AUFI were surrogacy and adoption. In November 2019, our team was granted approval for the first uterus transplant trial in Australia using known living donors.

Heart rate and blood pressure dependence of aortic distensibility in rats: comparison of measured and calculated pulse wave velocity.

Objectives: When assessing arterial stiffness, heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) are potential confounders. It appears that the HR/BP dependences of pulse wave velocity (PWV) and distensibility are different, even though both assess arterial stiffness. This study aims to compare aortic PWV as measured using pulse transit time (PWVTT) and as calculated from distensibility (PWVdist) at the same measurement site and propose a solution to the disparity in dependences of PWVTT and PWVdist.

A longitudinal assessment of retinal function and structure in the APP/PS1 transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

Background: A great body of evidence suggests that there are retinal functional and structural changes that occur in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, whether such changes are primary or secondary remains to be elucidated. We studied a range of retinal functional and structural parameters in association with AD- specific pathophysiological markers in the double transgenic APP/PS1 and control mice across age.

Postural effects on spontaneous retinal venous pulsations in healthy individuals.

Purpose: To assess amplitudes of spontaneous retinal venous pulsations (SVP) in three various postures (sitting, supine and lateral decubitus) in healthy individuals.

Methods: Thirty participants (28 ± 8 years, 25 females) were included in the study. Intraocular pressure (IOP), blood pressure (BP) and SVP's were measured at three different postures using a calibrated Tono-Pen applanation tonometer, a digital sphygmomanometer, and a custom-built handheld video ophthalmoscope, respectively.

Quantitative Retinal Vascular Changes in Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Purpose: To examine the relationship between both static and dynamic retinal vascular caliber and the severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Design: Prospective cross-sectional study.

Methods: Adult patients undergoing diagnostic polysomnography studies at a private Australian university teaching hospital were recruited.

Diagnostic and Prognostic Potential of Retinal Biomarkers in Early On-Set Alzheimer's Disease.

Objective: Accumulating evidence suggests that the eye can be used in the assessment of early on-set Alzheimer's disease (AD). The eye offers a natural window to the brain through the retina. The retina and brain share common developmental origins and patho-physiological origins and mechanisms, having been sequestered from it during early development, but retaining its connections with the brain via the optic nerve.

High speed in-vivo imaging of retinal hemodynamics in a rodent model of hypertension.

The eye is the only organ through which microcirculation can be visualized non-invasively. This unique feature makes the eye and specifically retinal vasculature an excellent target area to monitor and study micro-vascular damage in systemic diseases. Dynamic (real-time) changes of retinal vessels have been shown to be more specific to the disease in comparison with static measurements.

Retinal vascular and structural changes are associated with amyloid burden in the elderly: ophthalmic biomarkers of preclinical Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Retinal imaging may serve as an alternative approach to monitor brain pathology in Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we investigated the association between retinal vascular and structural changes and cerebral amyloid-β (Aβ) plaque load in an elderly cohort.

Methods: We studied a total of 101 participants, including 73 elderly subjects (79 ± 5 years, 22 male) with no clinical diagnosis of AD but reporting some subjective memory change and an additional 28 subjects (70 ± 9 years, 16 male) with clinically established AD.

Amyloid β accumulation and inner retinal degenerative changes in Alzheimer's disease transgenic mouse.

The APP-PS1ΔE9 mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) exhibits age dependent amyloid β (Aβ) plaque formation in their central nervous system due to high expression of mutated human APP and PSEN1 transgenes. Here we evaluated Aβ deposition and changes in soluble Aβ accumulation in the retinas of aged APP-PS1 mice using a combination of immunofluorescence, retinal flat mounts and western blotting techniques. Aβ accumulation in the retina has previously been shown to be associated with retinal ganglion cell apoptosis in animal models of glaucoma.

Correlation of retinal nerve fibre layer thickness and spontaneous retinal venous pulsations in glaucoma and normal controls.

Purpose: To study the relationship between amplitude of spontaneous retinal venous pulsatility (SRVP) and retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness in glaucomatous eyes, and to determine if this parameter may be a potential marker for glaucoma severity.

Method: 85 subjects including 50 glaucoma (21 males, 67±10 yrs) and 35 normals (16 males, 62±11 yrs) were studied. SRVP amplitude was measured using the Dynamic Vessel Analyser (DVA, Imedos, Germany) at four regions of the retina simultaneously within one disc diameter from the optic disc--temporal-superior (TS), nasal-superior (NS), temporal-inferior (TI) and nasal-inferior (NI)).

Dog behavior co-varies with height, bodyweight and skull shape.

Dogs offer unique opportunities to study correlations between morphology and behavior because skull shapes and body shape are so diverse among breeds. Several studies have shown relationships between canine cephalic index (CI: the ratio of skull width to skull length) and neural architecture. Data on the CI of adult, show-quality dogs (six males and six females) were sourced in Australia along with existing data on the breeds' height, bodyweight and related to data on 36 behavioral traits of companion dogs (n = 8,301) of various common breeds (n = 49) collected internationally using the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ).