Here is a new format, the eye pillsdesigned to keep you up to date: 8 ophthalmology pills carefully selected from articles published in international journals. Enjoy reading.
1. Retinal diseases: an innovative method was developed to cultivate primary microglia cells isolated from pig retinas in vitro. The cells obtained by this new technique show a functionality superimposed on that of the in vivo. Lim R.R. et al. Characterization of a functionally active primary microglial cell culture from the pig retina. Exp Eye Res. 2019. pii: S0014-4835(18)30546-3.
2.The alternation of day and night has an impact on our organism, regulating many functions, such as those performed by the cornea, much more than has been assumed so far. In fact, about 24% of the genes in the cornea, i.e. almost a quarter of the total, are expressed differently throughout the day, depending on the hours of exposure to light and darkness. Jiao X. et al. Transcriptional Profiling of Daily Patterns of mRNA Expression in the C57BL/6JMouse Cornea. Curr Eye Res. 2019 May 28.
3.Eye diseases: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Deep Learning (DL) and Machine Learning (ML) prove to be valuable allies in the fight against various diseases affecting the eye, such as diabetic retinopathy or glaucoma. A number of systems based on the use of these three new technologies and applied to clinical practice are in fact achieving remarkable progress in major imaging-based clinical fields, including ophthalmology. Ting D.S.W. et al. Deep learning in ophthalmology: The technical and clinical considerations. Prog Retin Eye Res. 2019. pii: S1350-9462(18)30090-9.
4.Myopia could play a protective role in reducing the incidence and progression of diabetic retinopathy (DR), according to a recent study conducted on a sample of patients with diabetesand associating increased axial length (AL) of the eye, a typical feature of axial myopia, with a lower incidence of DR. Man R.E. et al. Is Myopia Associated with the Incidence and Progression of Diabetic Retinopathy? Am J Ophthalmol. 2019. pii: S0002-9394(19)30232-6.
5. Fungal colonies that can protect against the onset of uveitis: A recent study shows, for the first time, that the intestinal fungal flora of patients with uveitis is significantly depleted and with a prevalence of pathogenic fungi, compared to that of healthy patients. Jayasudha R. et al. Implicating Dysbiosis of the Gut Fungal Microbiome in Uveitis, an InflammatoryDisease of the Eye. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2019. 60(5):1384-1393.
6. New hope for the prevention of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) comes from CRISPR/Cas technology. This molecular bioengineering technique makes it possible to carry out a genome editing operation to correct, in a targeted and extremely precise manner, a point mutation associated with a high risk of AMD occurrence, located in the CFH (Complement Factor H) gene, which encodes a glycoprotein involved in the regulation of certain functions of our immune system at the plasma level. Tran M.T.N. et al. Screening of CRISPR/Cas base editors to target the AMD high-risk Y402H complement factor H variant. Mol Vis. 2019. 25:174-182.
7. The treatment of retinal degenerative diseases by replacing damaged photoreceptors with healthy photoreceptors obtained from human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) may soon become a reality. Progress on this front is enabled by new 3D cell culture systems, which allow the development in vitro not only of tissues, but of true organoids, endowed with a more complex structure capable of reproducing, in a more simplified manner, that of the actual organ. Gagliardi G. et al. Photoreceptor cell replacement in macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa: A pluripotent stem cell-based approach. Prog Retin Eye Res. 2019. pii: S1350-9462(18)30091-0
8. Light is shed on the mechanisms by which the Zika virus would lead to the onset of congenital glaucoma, one of the many serious health consequences for the foetuses of women infected during pregnancy. A group of American researchers used experimental models for the first time. in vivo and in vitro to study the complex dynamics of infection of the eye by the virus. Such knowledge may prove invaluable in understanding the patterns of occurrence of not only congenital glaucoma, but also other forms of glaucoma, which is now one of the leading causes of blindness globally. Singh P.K. et al. Zika Virus Infects Trabecular Meshwork and Causes Trabeculitis and Glaucomatous Pathology in Mouse Eyes. mSphere. 2019;4(3). pii: e00173-19.
Dr. Carmelo Chines
Direttore responsabile
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