Comparing Half-Dose Photodynamic Therapy with Subthreshold Micropulse Laser for the Treatment of Central Serous Chorioretinopathy.

Purpose: To compare the anatomic and functional outcomes of half-dose photodynamic therapy (PDT) and yellow 577-nm subthreshold micropulse laser (SMLT) in treating patients with chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR).

Design: Prospective, double-masked, randomized, controlled clinical trial.

Participants: Patients with chronic CSCR confirmed by clinical features and multimodal imaging.

Evaluation of Electrical Performance and Properties of Electroretinography Electrodes.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the electrical performance and properties of commercially available electroretinography (ERG) electrodes.

Methods: A passive ionic model was used to measure impedance, noise, and potential drift in 10 types of ocular surface and skin ERG electrodes.

Results: The impedance for silver-based ocular electrodes are generally lower (range, 65.

Rationalisation and Validation of an Acrylamide-Free Procedure in Three-Dimensional Histological Imaging.

Three-dimensional visualization of intact tissues is now being achieved by turning tissues transparent. CLARITY is a unique tissue clearing technique, which features the use of detergents to remove lipids from fixed tissues to achieve optical transparency. To preserve tissue integrity, an acrylamide-based hydrogel has been proposed to embed the tissue.

Intravoxel incoherent imaging of renal fibrosis induced in a murine model of unilateral ureteral obstruction.

Purpose: To evaluate non-invasive imaging biomarkers for assessing renal fibrosis. DWI is used to assess renal function; intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) provides additional measures of perfusion-related diffusion (D*, blood flow; f, perfusion fraction). We aim to determine if reduced ADC seen in renal fibrosis is attributable to perfusion-related diffusion changes or to known reduction in tissue diffusivity (D).

Maternal plasma fetal DNA fractions in pregnancies with low and high risks for fetal chromosomal aneuploidies.

Recently published international guidelines recommend the clinical use of noninvasive prenatal test (NIPT) for aneuploidy screening only among pregnant women whose fetuses are deemed at high risk. The applicability of NIPT to aneuploidy screening among average risk pregnancies requires additional supportive evidence. A key determinant of the reliability of aneuploidy NIPT is the fetal DNA fraction in maternal plasma.

Reversible femtosecond laser-assisted myopia correction: a non-human primate study of lenticule re-implantation after refractive lenticule extraction.

LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) is a common laser refractive procedure for myopia and astigmatism, involving permanent removal of anterior corneal stromal tissue by excimer ablation beneath a hinged flap. Correction of refractive error is achieved by the resulting change in the curvature of the cornea and is limited by central corneal thickness, as a thin residual stromal bed may result in biomechanical instability of the cornea. A recently developed alternative to LASIK called Refractive Lenticule Extraction (ReLEx) utilizes solely a femtosecond laser (FSL) to incise an intrastromal refractive lenticule (RL), which results in reshaping the corneal curvature and correcting the myopia and/or astigmatism.

Systematic identification of spontaneous preterm birth-associated RNA transcripts in maternal plasma.

Background: Spontaneous preterm birth (SPB, before 37 gestational weeks) is a major cause of perinatal mortality and morbidity, but its pathogenesis remains unclear. Studies on SPB have been hampered by the limited availability of markers for SPB in predelivery clinical samples that can be easily compared with gestational age-matched normal controls. We hypothesize that SPB involves aberrant placental RNA expression, and that such RNA transcripts can be detected in predelivery maternal plasma samples, which can be compared with gestational age-matched controls.

Biocompatibility and biodegradation studies of subconjunctival implants in rabbit eyes.

Sustained ocular drug delivery is difficult to achieve. Most drugs have poor penetration due to the multiple physiological barriers of the eye and are rapidly cleared if applied topically. Biodegradable subconjunctival implants with controlled drug release may circumvent these two problems.

Early corneal wound healing and inflammatory responses after refractive lenticule extraction (ReLEx).

Purpose: To compare the early corneal wound repair and inflammatory responses after refractive lenticule extraction (ReLEx) and LASIK.

Methods: Eighteen rabbits underwent ReLEx and another 18 underwent LASIK. Each group was divided into three subgroups of six rabbits each and these were subjected to refractive corrections of -3.

Validation of the glaucoma filtration surgical mouse model for antifibrotic drug evaluation.

Glaucoma is a progressive optic neuropathy, which, if left untreated, leads to blindness. The most common and most modifiable risk factor in glaucoma is elevated intraocular pressure (IOP), which can be managed surgically by filtration surgery. The postoperative subconjunctival scarring response, however, remains the major obstacle to achieving long-term surgical success.

Systematic identification of placental epigenetic signatures for the noninvasive prenatal detection of Edwards syndrome.

Background: Noninvasive prenatal diagnosis of fetal aneuploidy by maternal plasma analysis is challenging owing to the low fractional and absolute concentrations of fetal DNA in maternal plasma. Previously, we demonstrated for the first time that fetal DNA in maternal plasma could be specifically targeted by epigenetic (DNA methylation) signatures in the placenta. By comparing one such methylated fetal epigenetic marker located on chromosome 21 with another fetal genetic marker located on a reference chromosome in maternal plasma, we could infer the relative dosage of fetal chromosome 21 and noninvasively detect fetal trisomy 21.

SPARC deficiency results in improved surgical survival in a novel mouse model of glaucoma filtration surgery.

Glaucoma is a disease frequently associated with elevated intraocular pressure that can be alleviated by filtration surgery. However, the post-operative subconjunctival scarring response which blocks filtration efficiency is a major hurdle to the achievement of long-term surgical success. Current application of anti-proliferatives to modulate the scarring response is not ideal as these often give rise to sight-threatening complications.

Systematic search for placental DNA-methylation markers on chromosome 21: toward a maternal plasma-based epigenetic test for fetal trisomy 21.

Background: The presence of fetal DNA in maternal plasma represents a source of fetal genetic material for noninvasive prenatal diagnosis; however, the coexisting background maternal DNA complicates the analysis of aneuploidy in such fetal DNA. Recently, the SERPINB5 gene on chromosome 18 was shown to exhibit different DNA-methylation patterns in the placenta and maternal blood cells, and the allelic ratio for placenta-derived hypomethylated SERPINB5 in maternal plasma was further shown to be useful for noninvasive detection of fetal trisomy 18.

Methods: To develop a similar method for the noninvasive detection of trisomy 21, we used methylation-sensitive single nucleotide primer extension and/or bisulfite sequencing to systematically search 114 CpG islands (CGIs)-76% of the 149 CGIs on chromosome 21 identified by bioinformatic criteria-for differentially methylated DNA patterns.

The dual role of dexamethasone on anti-inflammation and outflow resistance demonstrated in cultured human trabecular meshwork cells.

Purpose: Dexamethasone (DEX) is a glucocorticoid commonly used in topical eyedrops to treat eye inflammation. It has an undesirable effect of inducing glaucoma in certain patients. In human Trabecular Meshwork (TM) cells DEX regulates a number of genes but its global influence on TM gene expression is still elusive.

Different optineurin mutation pattern in primary open-angle glaucoma.

Purpose: The optineurin gene (OPTN) is the second gene besides MYOC in which mutations have been identified to be associated with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). In this study, sequence alterations in the OPTN gene associated with POAG in Chinese subjects were investigated.

Methods: All the coding exons of OPTN were screened, including the intron-exon boundaries, for sequence alterations in a Chinese sample of 119 sporadic patients with POAG and 126 unrelated control subjects by polymerase chain reaction-conformation-sensitive gel electrophoresis and DNA sequencing.

TGFbeta-induced factor: a candidate gene for high myopia.

Purpose: To investigate the coding exons of transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta-induced factor (TGIF) for mutations in Chinese patients with high myopia.

Methods: Seventy-one individuals with high myopia of -6.00 D or less and 105 control subjects were screened by DNA sequencing for sequence alterations.

Induction of medulloblastomas in mice by sonic hedgehog, independent of Gli1.

The Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling pathway plays a critical role in normal cerebellar development and has been implicated in medulloblastomas, common malignant childhood tumors of the cerebellum. To test whether Shh mis-expression is sufficient for medulloblastoma formation, we used ultrasound biomicroscopy-guided in utero injection of a Shh-expressing retrovirus into the cerebellum of 13.5-day mouse embryos to show that direct activation of the Shh pathway can lead to tumor formation.

TIGR/MYOC gene sequence alterations in individuals with and without primary open-angle glaucoma.

Purpose: To discover sequence alterations in the TIGR/MYOC gene associated with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) in Chinese subjects.

Methods: Two hundred one unrelated Chinese patients with POAG and 291 unrelated individuals without glaucoma, aged 50 years or more, were screened for sequence alterations in the TIGR/MYOC gene by polymerase chain reaction, conformation sensitive gel electrophoresis, and DNA sequencing. Up to 111 more control subjects were screened for some of the alterations.