[Epidemiology and clinical characteristics of primary congenital glaucoma]

Postnatal eye size in mice is controlled by SREBP2-mediated transcriptional repression of Lrp2 and Bmp2

Eye size is a key parameter of visual function, but the precise mechanisms of eye size control remain poorly understood. Here, we discovered that the lipogenic transcription factor sterol regulatory element-binding protein 2 (SREBP2) has an unanticipated function in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) to promote eye size in postnatal mice. SREBP2 transcriptionally represses low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 2 (Lrp2), which has been shown to restrict eye overgrowth. Bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) is the downstream effector of Srebp2 and Lrp2, and Bmp2 is suppressed by SREBP2 transcriptionally but activated by Lrp2. During postnatal development, SREBP2 protein expression in the RPE decreases whereas that of Lrp2 and Bmp2 increases as the eye growth rate reduces. Bmp2 is the key determinant of eye size such that its level in mouse RPE inversely correlates with eye size. Notably, RPE-specific Bmp2 overexpression by adeno-associated virus effectively prevents the phenotypes caused by Lrp2 knock out. Together, our study shows that rapid postnatal eye size increase is governed by an RPE-derived signaling pathway, which consists of both positive and negative regulators of eye growth.

Successful Management of Complex Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment in Congenital Glaucoma

 Retinal detachment in congenital glaucoma is rare and often associated with a poor prognosis. In this report, we describe ocular manifestations of congenital glaucoma, pre- and post-operative ophthalmic findings, and overall anatomic and functional outcomes after successful rhegmatogenous retinal detachment repair along with a review of the literature. Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment in a 45-year-old monocular patient with congenital glaucoma was successfully repaired with small gauge pars plana vitrectomy, intra-operative perfluorocarbon use and 1,000 centistoke silicone oil tamponade. Best-corrected visual acuity improved from CF to 20/70; however, the post-operative course was complicated by hypotony-associated maculopathy after removal of silicone oil. Five thousand centistoke silicone oil was reinfused with good anatomic and functional outcomes. The functional outcome may ultimately be limited by pre-existing amblyopia and other ocular comorbidities.

Ab Interno Goniotomy Combined with Ab Externo Trabeculotomy in Advanced Primary Congenital Glaucoma Patients: 2-Year Follow-Up

Introduction

Primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) is a challenging disease that needs to be surgically managed with more innovative methods. Conventional incisional surgery, such as goniotomy and trabeculotomy, has a primary high success rate, but does not seem to be a very effective treatment in advanced stages.

Design

A prospective clinical case study.

Purpose

To qualify the outcome, in terms of success rate, of goniotomy combined with trabeculotomy as a surgical option to treat eyes affected by PCG with a corneal diameter larger than 14 mm.

Patients and Methods

This study included 50 eyes of 50 patients diagnosed with PCG with corneal diameter larger than 14 mm who underwent ab interno goniotomy combined with ab externo trabeculotomy. Intraocular pressure (IOP) was measured preoperatively and 24 months postoperatively. A statistical analysis was performed to detect correlations between the success rate and corneal diameter, preoperative IOP, age of onset, axial length, and consanguinity. The main outcome was reduction in IOP; secondary outcomes were factors affecting the success rate, complications, and the need for additional surgical intervention to control IOP.

Results

The mean age of the patients was 18.86±9.94 months. Males made up 52% of cases and females 48% of cases. Positive consanguinity was present in 38% of cases. Axial length ranged between 20 and 22 mm, with a mean of 20.98±0.8 mm. Mean preoperative IOP was 29.56±3.36 mmHg, which decreased postoperatively to 12.6±2.5, 14.1±3.2, 16.8±5.5, 14.4±2.3, 14.3±1.6, 14.3±1.6, 14.3±1.6, 14.3±1.7, and 14.3±1.7 mmHg at 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, and 24 months respectively (p˂0.001). Use of medical treatment was decreased from 2.7±0.4 preoperatively to 1.4±0.7 postoperatively (p˂0.001). Hyphema was the only complication that appeared, occurring in 47% of cases. The success rate was 94%. Complete success (IOP <21 mmHg without treatment) was achieved in 70% of cases, 24% were considered a qualified success (IOP <21 mmHg with treatment), while failure was documented in 6% of cases (IOP >21 mmHg with treatment). The success rate was significantly related to preoperative IOP, corneal diameter, axial length, consanguinity, and age of onset (p˂0.001). All cases were followed for 24 months.

Conclusion

Ab interno goniotomy combined with ab externo trabeculotomy improves the success rate of buphthalmos surgery. A significant correlation was detected between success rate and preoperative IOP, corneal diameter, axial length, consanguinity, and age of onset.

The Epidemiological and Clinical Findings from the Latvian Registry of Primary Congenital Glaucoma and Evaluation of Prognostic Factors

Background and objectives: primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) is a rare, potentially blinding disease that affects children worldwide. The aim of the study was to describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics, outcomes for newly diagnosed patients with PCG, as well as evaluate the prognostic factors that are related to the outcomes. Materials and Methods: a retrospective cohort study was conducted at a tertiary referral centre among patients diagnosed with PCG. Evaluation of the clinical data was performed preoperatively at three, six, and 12 months after the surgery and at the last follow-up. Results: during the 15 years of follow-ups, 24 eyes of 18 patients were diagnosed with PCG. Unilateral and bilateral PCG constituted 50% of cases each. A slight male predominance was observed (55.6% vs. 44.4%), with a relative risk of 1.3. The incidence of PCG was 1:19,033 live births. The mean age of the patients at the time of diagnosis was 10.1 ± 10.0 months, with a diagnostic delay of 2.0 ± 1.9 months. Furthermore, 75% of patients indicated an enlargement of an eyeball, followed by excessive tearing (58.3%) and corneal opacity (41.7%). After 85.9 ± 51.2 months, the mean intraocular pressure (IOP) value was 14.6 ± 4.9 mmHg. Surgical treatment provided sufficient IOP control in 75% of PCG cases at the last follow-up visit. The only prognostic factor that was related to the outcome of IOP control that was statistically significant was axial length at the time of diagnosis. Conclusions: the incidence of PCG in Latvia was 5.3 patients per 100,000 live births. PCG was more common among males than females with a relative risk of 1.3. The enlargement of an eyeball was the leading clinical sign.

Risk factors associated with congenital defects that alter hearing or vision in children born in the city of Bogotá between 2002 and 2016

INTRODUCTION

Congenital defects affecting the auditory and visual capacity of newborns represent a public health problem as they result in substantial disability, directly impacting the quality of life of newborns and their families.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate risk factors associated with congenital defects that alter hearing or vision in newborns in the city of Bogotá between 2002 and 2016.

METHOD

Data from the Bogotá Birth Defects Surveillance and Follow-up Program was used, which consolidated data regarding 167 ECLAMC study (Estudio Colaborativo Latino Americano de Malformaciones Congénitas, in spanish) variables in a case-control design to identify risk factors for birth defects after parents provided signed informed consent. Cases were defined as any newborn (alive or stillborn) with a weight greater than 500 g with any visual or hearing abnormality. Controls were defined as newborn in the same hospital and month with no birth defects. Groups were formed according to the case presentation as follows: isolated eye anomaly, isolated ear anomaly, polymalformative, syndromic, and teratogenic.

RESULTS

In total, 402,657 births were reviewed, of which 968 cases had some congenital defects that alter hearing or vision. An association was found between the presence of defects and prematurity, as well as between syndromic cases and increasing maternal age. When comparing cases and controls with the risk of having a birth defect, multiparity had an odds ratio (OR) of 1.47 (95% CI: 1.27-1.71), acute respiratory infection had an OR of 2.41 (95% CI: 1.04-5.58), low maternal education level had an OR of 1.34 (95% CI:1.10-1.62), low paternal education had an OR of 1.42, (95% CI:1.17-1.73), manual labor in the maternal occupation had an OR of 1.31 (95% CI:1.03-1.67), and a history of congenital anomalies in the family had an OR of 1.55 (95% CI:1.19-2.00).

CONCLUSION

This research allowed the identification of epidemiological data and significant risk factors for congenital defects that alter hearing or vision in the population of Bogotá.

The Prevalence of Glaucoma in Young People

BACKGROUND

Earlier information on the prevalence of glaucoma among children in Germany was based solely on estimates. Reported values for congenital glaucoma range from 1 in 10 000 to 1 in 68 000 depending on ethnic origin. The estimate for juvenile glaucoma is 1 in 44 000.

METHODS

The Gutenberg Health Study is a populationbased, prospective, monocentric cohort study with 15 010 participants aged 35 to 74. To determine the history-based prevalence of childhood glaucoma, participants were asked about the diagnosis of glaucoma, any operations for glaucoma that were performed, regular use of drugs for glaucoma, and the age of onset of glaucoma. The affected individuals were classified in four groups based on the age of onset: congenital (<2 years), juvenile (2 to <18 years), late juvenile (18 to <40 years), and early adult (40 to <45 years). In the identified glaucoma patients, the visual acuity, intraocular pressure, corneal thickness, visual fields, and optic discs were evaluated.

RESULTS

352 persons were identified from their medical history as having glaucoma. The weighted prevalences in the four groups were 0% in the congenital group, 0.01% (95% confidence interval [0, 0.03]) in the juvenile group, 0.16 % ([0.09; 0.23]) in the late juvenile group, and 0.17% ([0.15; 0.19]) in the early adult group. For participants over age 45, the weighted prevalence of glaucoma was 1.98% [1.7; 2.2].

CONCLUSION

In our cohort, the history-based prevalence of juvenile glaucoma was 0.01% (2 patients). The prevalence was an order of magnitude higher (0.16%) between the ages of 18 and 40, and two orders of magnitude higher at later ages (1.98%). The burden of disease seems to be markedly higher than previously assumed.

Mitomycin C in Filtering Surgery for Primary Congenital Glaucoma: A Comparison of Exposure Durations

PURPOSE

To compare the effect of two exposure durations of mitomycin C in combined angle and filtering surgery for primary congenital glaucoma.

METHODS

This was a prospective study conducted in the Department of Ophthalmology at Alexandria Main University Hospital, Alexandria, Egypt, on 75 eyes with primary congenital glaucoma that underwent combined trabeculotomy-trabeculectomy with intraoperative mitomycin C application for 1 minute (MMC 1) or 2 minutes (MMC 2) and were followed up for 24 months. Success rates were studied and complications noted. Success was defined by a composite primary end point of an intraocular pressure (IOP) of less than 16 mm Hg under general anesthesia, without any IOP-lowering medications and with no hypotony-related complications and/or lack of IOP-related progression of the disease as evidenced by worsening of the ocular biometric characteristics.

RESULTS

The mean age of the study participants was 6.7 ± 4.1 months (range: 2 to 16 months; median: 6 months) in the MMC 1 group (35 eyes) and 7.7 ± 5.7 months (range: 1 to 32 months; median: 6.5 months) in the MMC 2 group (40 eyes). The initial surgery was successful in 32 (91.5%) and 31 (77.5%) eyes in the MMC 1 and MMC 2 groups, respectively. The mean IOP was 18.4 ± 5.1 and 18.1 ± 6.1 mm Hg preoperatively and 5.5 ± 3.5 and 4.8 ± 2.8 mm Hg at the end of follow-up in the MMC 1 and MMC 2 groups, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the clinical parameters between the two groups. Complications included cataracts in each group and hypotony optic disc edema in 3 eyes (7.5%) in the MMC 2 group.

CONCLUSIONS

Both mitomycin C application durations were effective in combined trabeculotomy-trabeculectomy with mitomycin C for primary congenital glaucoma. The longer duration was not advantageous in disease control and there were no significant differences in complications. [J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 2018;55(3):164-170.].

Fellow Eye in Unilateral Primary Congenital Glaucoma

Aim

This is a report of the incidence of bilateral cases in a cohort of primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) cases and a study of the biometric characteristics of the fellow normal eyes in unilateral cases.

Materials and methods

The charts of 134 PCG children were reviewed, of which 78 cases (58.2%) were found to have bilateral disease. The remaining 56 patients (41.8%) with unilateral disease had their fellow normal eyes compared with an age-matched cohort of ophthalmologically free children.

Results

There were no differences between the normal fellow eyes of PCG cases and the control eyes in the corneal diameter and central corneal thickness (CCT), whereas the normal fellow eyes of PCG cases had higher intraocular pressure (IOP) and cup/disc (C/D) ratios.

Conclusion

The fellow eyes of apparently unilateral PCG cases are not typically normal anatomically like other children unaffected by PCG.

Clinical significance

A very high index of suspicion has to be kept for PCG cases that present apparently unilaterally, and meticulous prolonged follow-up is mandatory.

How to cite this article

Bayoumi NHL. Fellow Eye in Unilateral Primary Congenital Glaucoma. J Curr Glaucoma Pract 2017;11(1):28-30.