Decreased peripheral arterial volume distensibility in patients with branch retinal vein occlusion in comparison with normal subjects

Prevalence and Associations of Peripheral Arterial Disease in China: The Beijing Eye Study

PURPOSE

To explore the prevalence and associations of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in China.

DESIGN

Population-based incidence estimate and cross-sectional study.

METHODS

The participants (n=3468) of the Beijing Eye Study underwent a detailed ophthalmologic and systemic examination including assessment of the ankle-brachial index (ABI). PAD was defined by an ABI of less than 0.9.

RESULTS

Blood pressure measurements of both arms and ankles were available for 1078 (31.1%) individuals. An ABI (mean: 1.09±0.11; median: 1.10; range: 0.25, 1.36) of <0.9 and <0.95 was found in 32 of 1078 participants (3.0%, 95% CI 2.0, 4.0) and 70 of 1078 individuals (6.5%, 95% CI 5.0, 8.0), respectively. Higher PAD prevalence (multivariable analysis) was associated with older age (odds ratio [OR] 1.08, 95% CI 1.02, 1.15; P = .009), lower level of education (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.43, 0.90; P = .01), lower quality of life (OR 0.67, 95% CI 1.11, 2.32), higher glucose serum concentration (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.09, 1.58; P = .006), lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.96, 0.99; P = .04), and higher prevalence of retinal vein occlusions (OR 7.30, 95% CI 1.63, 32.6; P = .009). PAD prevalence was not associated with the prevalence of glaucoma (P = .53) (open-angle glaucoma: P = .42; angle-closure glaucoma: P = .57) and age-related macular degeneration (any AMD: P = .39; early AMD: P = .31; intermediate AMD: P = .92; late AMD: P = .99), prevalence (P = .26) and stage (P = .07) of diabetic retinopathy, prevalence (P = .38) and degree (P = .68) of nuclear cataract, prevalence (P = .39) and degree (P = .72) of cortical cataract, prevalence of subcapsular cataract (P = .86), prevalence of pseudoexfoliation (P = .65), intraocular pressure (P = .50), axial length (P = .56), and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (P = .68).

CONCLUSIONS

The PAD prevalence (3.0%, 95% CI 2.0%, 4.0%) was relatively low in this cohort from rural and urban Beijing, with older age, lower educational level, lower quality of life, higher glucose serum concentration, lower estimated glomerular filtration rate, and higher prevalence of retinal vein occlusions as main associated factors.

Ankle-brachial index and ocular diseases in a Russian population

Background

To assess potential associations between the ankle-brachial blood pressure index (ABI) and ocular disorders.

Methods

In the population-based cross-sectional Russian Ural Eye and Medical Study including 5,899 (80.5%) out of 7328 eligible participants aged 40+ years, the participants underwent a series of ocular and medical examinations including measurement of ABI.

Results

Blood pressure measurements of both arms and ankles were available for 3187 (54.0%) individuals. The mean ABI was 1.26 ± 0.19 (median:1.20; range: 0.61, 2.20). In multivariate analysis, a higher ABI was associated with younger age (P < 0.001; non-standardized regression coefficient B: −0.001; 95% confidence interval (CI): −0.002, −0.001), female sex (P < 0.001; B: 0.03; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.04), lower body mass index (P < 0.001; B: −0.004; 95% CI: −0.006, −0.003), lower waist-to-hip ratio (P = 0.01; B: −0.10; 95% CI: −0.17, −0.02), lower glucose serum concentration (P = 0.008; B: −0.005; 95% CI: −0.009, −0.001), lower prevalence of arterial hypertension (P < 0.001; B: −0.14; 95% CI: −0.16, −0.12), higher mean systolic blood pressure (P < 0.001; B: 0.003; 95% CI: 0.002, 0.003), and higher prevalence of any alcohol consumption (P < 0.001; B: 0.03; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.04). In that multivariate model, prevalence of glaucoma (P = 0.67) as a whole, open-angle glaucoma (P = 0.86) and angle-closure glaucoma (P = 0.54), stage of glaucomatous optic neuropathy (P = 0.57), prevalence of age-related macular degeneration (P = 0.88), prevalence and stage of diabetic retinopathy (P = 0.30, and P = 0.29, respectively), nuclear cataract (P = 0.32, and P = 0.41, resp.), cortical cataract (P = 0.33, and P = 0.92, resp.), subcapsular cataract (P = 0.74 and P = 0.60, resp.), and pseudoexfoliation (P = 0.44 and P = 0.47, resp.), intraocular pressure (P = 0.52), axial length (P = 0.20), and peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer thickness (P = 0.55) were not significantly associated with the ABI.

Conclusions

In this ethnically mixed population from Russia, none of the major ocular diseases was associated with ABI suggesting that subclinical atherosclerosis is not markedly associated with the aetiology of these ocular disorders.

Endothelial dysfunction and impaired arterial wall properties in patients with retinal vein occlusion

Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is a common retinal vascular lesion, and a leading cause of visual impairment. Patients with RVO have an increased risk for cardiovascular disease and share multiple common risk factors. In this study, we investigated the endothelial function and arterial stiffness of patients with RVO compared to healthy-control (CL) subjects. We enrolled 40 consecutive patients with RVO and 40 CL subjects. RVO was diagnosed by an ophthalmologist, endothelial function was evaluated by flow mediated dilation (FMD) in the brachial artery, and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (AIx) of the radial artery were measured to evaluate arterial stiffness and reflected waves, respectively. No significant differences were detected between the studied groups in sex, age, presence of hypertension or dyslipidemia, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels, total cholesterol levels, and smoking habits (p > 0.05 for all). However, patients with RVO had impaired FMD (p = 0.002) and increased PWV (p = 0.004), even after adjustment for several confounders. Both FMD and PWV were also significantly and independently associated with the development of RVO. Furthermore, a significant and positive correlation between PWV and systolic blood pressure existed only in the CL group. Therefore, we have shown that RVO is associated with significant endothelial dysfunction and increased arterial stiffness. Our results strengthen the vascular theory, according to which, systemic endothelial dysfunction and arteriosclerosis play a significant role in the pathogenesis of RVO.

On-demand quantitative SERS bioassays facilitated by surface-tethered ratiometric probes

A robust chip-based SERS concept for quantitative on-demand metabolite screening is established.

Reliable and user-friendly sensing of target analytes in complex biofluids is of fundamental importance to biological science and medicine. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has proven to be capable of detecting molecules with high sensitivity, but achieving robust quantitative detection remains a challenge mainly because of the severe signal fluctuation at electromagnetic hot spots. Here, we describe an on-demand and quantitative SERS strategy for metabolite profiling based on a chip-based sensing device that adopts stable and surface-tethered small-molecule probes as Raman reporters. These probes with a ratiometric response allow for sensitive and reproducible SERS detection by offering an internal calibration to correct the signal fluctuation caused by the spatiotemporal variation of assay conditions. Meanwhile, the chip-based sensing scheme makes time-separated on-demand detection possible. Ultimately, due to the flexibility in choosing diverse ratiometric Raman probes, we expect the proposed quantitative SERS sensing concept to be useful for studies in the fields of cell biology and clinical diagnosis.