Neovascular age-related macular degeneration on three nationwide survey and register data in Finland during 2000-2017.

Purpose: To evaluate time trends in the incidence and prevalence of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and its treatments, associated factors, and effects on vision in Finland during 2000-2017.

Methods: We used three nationwide health examination surveys representing the Finnish population aged 30 years or older. All three surveys were linked to the national care register covering nAMD diagnoses and intravitreal injections between 2000 and 2017.

Societal costs of decreased visual acuity: A Finnish cohort study with 15 years of registry data follow-up.

Purpose: To examine what direct and indirect societal costs are associated with decreased visual acuity (VA).

Methods: Nationally representative sample of 8028 Finnish adults aged 30 years or older with survey data and clinical examination including VA assessment was evaluated. These data were linked with multiple national registers to capture health care services utilization during 1999-2013.

Tear fluid reflects the altered protein expressions of Alzheimer's disease patients in proteins involved in protein repair and clearance system or the regulation of cytoskeleton.

Background: New biomarkers that improve diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are warranted. Tear fluid (TF) containing variety of proteins that reflect pathophysiological changes of systemic diseases makes TF proteins potential biomarker candidates for AD.

Objective: We investigated the expression levels of TF proteins in persons with mild AD and cognitively healthy controls (CO) to find out if altered proteins may link to the AD pathophysiology.

The incidence of visual impairment due to retinitis pigmentosa has declined in Finland over the last 40 years.

Purpose: To study the changes in incidence, age at onset and severity of visual impairment (VI) due to retinitis pigmentosa (RP) in the Years 1980-2019, and the incidence and age at diagnosis of hereditary retinal dystrophy (HRD) diagnoses coded by ICD10 H35.5 in the Years 1998-2019 in Finland.

Methods: A total of 1606 persons with VI due to RP registered by the Finnish Register of Visual Impairment and total of 4291 HRD diagnoses registered by the Care Register of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare were included.

Long noncoding RNA EPCART regulates translation through PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and PDCD4 in prostate cancer.

While hundreds of cancer-associated long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been discovered, their functional role in cancer cells is still largely a mystery. An increasing number of lncRNAs are recognized to function in the cytoplasm, e.g.

Comparison of early changes in tear film protein profiles after small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) and femtosecond LASIK (FS-LASIK) surgery.

Background: Small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) and femtosecond laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) are widely used surgical methods to correct myopia with comparable efficacy, predictability, and safety. We examined and compared the early changes of tear protein profiles after SMILE and FS-LASIK surgery in order to find possible differences in the initial corneal healing process.

Methods: SMILE operations for 26 eyes were made with Visumax femtosecond laser.

Price tag of glaucoma care is minor compared with the total direct and indirect costs of glaucoma: Results from nationwide survey and register data.

Background: The estimations of the economic burden of glaucoma have focused on comparing different treatment modalities; hence, the total direct and indirect costs of glaucoma at population level are not well known.

Objective: To estimate the direct and indirect costs of glaucoma and its treatment in Finland.

Methods: Economic and glaucoma data were collected from the cross-sectional nationwide Health 2000 health examination survey linked to multiple national registers, which allowed a 13-year follow-up between 1999-2011 among survey participants.

Association of APOE Haplotypes With Common Age-Related Ocular Diseases in 412,171 Individuals.

Purpose: Apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4), a known risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, has controversially been associated with reduced risk of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Here, we sought to systematically quantify the associations of APOE haplotypes with age-related ocular diseases and to assess their scope and age-dependency.

Methods: We included genetic and registry data from 412,171 Finnish individuals in the FinnGen study.

Nationwide and regional trends in distance and near visual acuities during 2000-2017 in Finland.

Purpose: To evaluate time trends in distance and near vision at the national and regional levels during 2000-2017 in Finland.

Methods: We used three cross-sectional, nationwide health examination surveys representing the Finnish adult population aged 30 years or older in 2000, 2011 and 2017. Bilateral, habitual distance and near visual acuity (VA) were measured in all three surveys.

Proteomics of Deep Cervical Lymph Nodes After Experimental Traumatic Brain Injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) damages the glymphatic-lymphatic system. We hypothesized that brain injury associated with trauma results in the enrichment of brain-relevant proteins in deep cervical lymph nodes (DCLNs), the end station of meningeal lymphatic vessels, and that some of these proteins will present mechanistic tissue biomarkers for TBI. Proteomes of rat DCLNs were investigated in the left DCLN (ipsilateral to injury) and right DCLN at 6.

Proteomics Analysis of R-Ras Deficiency in Oxygen Induced Retinopathy.

Small GTPase R-Ras regulates vascular permeability in angiogenesis. In the eye, abnormal angiogenesis and hyperpermeability are the leading causes of vision loss in several ischemic retinal diseases such as proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), retinal vein occlusion (RVO), and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) is the most widely used experimental model for these ischemic retinopathies.

Impact of vision on generic health-related quality of life - A systematic review.

The aim of the study was to provide an overview on the relation between vision and generic health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in general populations worldwide. We conducted a systematic review to identify articles that have evaluated the relation of binocularly measured distance visual acuity (VA) and HRQoL in adults at population level around the world. Used search terms were related to visual acuity, vision loss, visual impairment and HRQoL.

Ocular surface disease signs and symptoms of glaucoma patients and their relation to glaucoma medication in Finland.

Purpose: To evaluate the prevalence of ocular surface disease (OSD) signs and symptoms of glaucoma patients in private clinics in relation to topical glaucoma treatment and to compare them to non-glaucomatous population.

Methods: A multicenter, cross-sectional study consisting of private ophthalmology clinic visits in southern Finland. Glaucoma patients had a diagnosis of primary open-angle glaucoma, pseudoexfoliation glaucoma, pigmentary glaucoma, or treated ocular hypertension.

Comparison of three health-related quality of life instruments in relation to visual acuity: EQ-5D, 15D, and EUROHIS-QOL8.

Purpose: To compare three health-related quality of life (HRQoL) instruments in detecting the effect of distance visual acuity (VA) on generic HRQoL in an adult population.

Methods: We used cross-sectional, population-based data from a nationwide health survey conducted in Finland in 2011-2012. It included three self-reported HRQoL instruments, EuroQol-5 Dimension (EQ-5D), 15D, and EUROHIS-QOL8, and a health examination in which habitual distance VA was measured binocularly.

Visual impairment due to age-related macular degeneration during 40 years in Finland and the impact of novel therapies.

Purpose: To evaluate the changes in visual impairment (VI) due to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) during the past 40 years and the impact of novel therapies at population level.

Methods: In this nationwide register-based study, we assessed the incidence, prevalence, severity, and onset age of VI due to AMD based on the Finnish Register of Visual Impairment data from 1980 to 2019. Our data included 30 016 visually impaired persons with AMD as the main diagnosis for VI.

Clinical Tear Fluid Proteomics-A Novel Tool in Glaucoma Research.

Tear fluid forms the outermost layer of the ocular surface and its characteristics and composition have been connected to various ocular surface diseases. As tear proteomics enables the non-invasive investigation of protein levels in the tear fluid, it has become an increasingly popular approach in ocular surface and systemic disease studies. Glaucoma, which is a set of multifactorial diseases affecting mainly the optic nerve and retinal ganglion cells, has also been studied using tear proteomics.

Elevated One-Hour Post-Load Glucose Is Independently Associated with Albuminuria: A Cross-Sectional Population Study.

The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the associations between albuminuria and fasting (FPG), 1 h post-load (1 h PG) and 2 h post-load plasma glucose (2 h PG) in an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). A total of 496 people free of known diabetes (mean age 72 years) participated in the examinations including the OGTT with plasma glucose measurements at 0, 1, and 2 h and levels of HbA1c. Albuminuria was determined by the urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio and was defined as ≥3.

Changes in Visual Impairment due to Diabetic Retinopathy During 1980-2019 Based on Nationwide Register Data.

Objective: To evaluate changes in the incidence, prevalence, severity, and onset age of visual impairment (VI) due to diabetic retinopathy (DR) and compare these trends in the screening and treatment of diabetes during 40 years based on Finnish national register data.

Research Design And Methods: We included people with VI with nonproliferative DR (NPDR; n = 2,490, 73% women) or proliferative DR (PDR; n = 2,026, 53% women) as the main diagnosis for VI during 1980-2019 in the Finnish Register of Visual Impairment. The number of patients with treated diabetes during 1986-2019 was obtained from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland registers based on reimbursed medication data.

Antibacterial and Oxidative Stress-Protective Effects of Five Monoterpenes from Softwood.

Volatile organic compounds (VOC) affect the quality of indoor air. Terpenes and especially monoterpenes are the main molecules emitted from softwood material (coniferous species), which is widely used in construction. The corneal epithelium is one of the first human membranes to encounter VOCs in the air.

Intraluminal deposits: A rare cause of glaucoma drainage implant total obstruction.

Purpose: To report the unforeseen complication of total obstruction of a glaucoma drainage implant (GDI) tube lumen by white deposit material and to present a preliminary report identifying the composition of this material.

Methods: Two subjects with a high IOP due to total obstruction of a GDI tube were reviewed. Both patients had a long history with brinzolamide and timolol maleate eye drops.

Various vascular malformations are prevalent in Finnish pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) patients: a national registry study.

Background: Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE, OMIM# 264800) is an inborn error of metabolism causing ectopic soft tissue calcification due to low plasma pyrophosphate concentration. We aimed to assess the prevalence of PXE in Finland and to characterize the Finnish PXE population. A nationwide registry search was performed to identify patients with ICD-10 code Q82.

Prevalence and 11-Year Incidence of Cataract and Cataract Surgery and the Effects of Socio-Demographic and Lifestyle Factors.

Purpose: To assess the impact of cataract in ageing population by evaluating the prevalence, incidence, and background factors of cataract and cataract surgery.

Patients And Methods: Two health examination surveys representing Finnish population in 2000 and 2011 included 7380 and 5930 participants aged 30 years or older with cataract status known. An 11-year follow-up included 4840 persons who participated in both the surveys.

A Natural History of Erectile Dysfunction in Elderly Men: A Population-Based, Twelve-Year Prospective Study.

There is a wide variation in the development and course of erectile dysfunction (ED) in men, which confirms the need for prospective studies. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis among the general male population at the baseline ( = 359) and in a follow-up survey ( = 218) 12 years later. The prospective 12-year study included 189 men.