Age-related changes in the peripheral retinal nerve fiber layer thickness

Gözde Hondur,1,2 Emre Göktaş,1 Lama Al-Aswad,1 Gülgün Tezel1 1Department of Ophthalmology, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA; 2Department of Ophthalmology, Ulucanlar Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey Purpose: This pilot cross-sectional study aimed to determine age-related changes of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in retinal periphery by swept-source optical coherence tomography-based analysis.Methods: Forty eyes of 40 healthy subjects were studied in three age groups, group 1 (20–40 years, n=15), group 2 (41–60 years, n=14), and group 3 (≥61 years, n=11). Wide-angle swept-source optical coherence tomography scans, including the optic disc and macula, were montaged with the nasal peripheral optical coherence tomography images acquired with a contralateral gaze. The peripapillary and peripheral RNFL thickness values were obtained for nasal and temporal sides. The ratio of peripheral-to-peripapillary RNFL thickness was also calculated for these sectors.Results: We detected a significantly thinner RNFL in older than younger subjects at a distance of 6 mm from the optic disc on nasal and temporal sides (P<0.001). An age-related reduction in peripheral-to-peripapillary RNFL thickness ratios (P<0.001 and P<0.02 for nasal and temporal sides, respectively) was also detected.Conclusion: The age-related decline should be taken into consideration when determining the glaucoma-related alterations in peripheral RNFL thickness. Continued analysis in patients with ocular hypertension and glaucoma should help determine whether RNFL in the periphery with lower nerve tissue reserve might be more susceptible to injury, whether injury to the peripheral RNFL might be easier to detect, and/or whether analysis of the peripheral RNFL thickness could improve clinical diagnosis and follow-up of glaucoma. Keywords: age, glaucoma, retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, swept-source optical coherence tomograph

Bioactive self-assembled peptide nanofibers for corneal stroma

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Defects in the corneal stroma caused by trauma or diseases such as macular corneal dystrophy and keratoconus can be detrimental for vision. Development of therapeutic methods to enhance corneal regeneration is essential for treatment of these defects. This paper describes a bioactive peptide nanofiber scaffold system for corneal tissue regeneration. These nanofibers are formed by self-assembling peptide amphiphile molecules containing laminin and fibronectin inspired sequences. Human corneal keratocyte cells cultured on laminin-mimetic peptide nanofibers retained their characteristic morphology, and their proliferation was enhanced compared with cells cultured on fibronectin-mimetic nanofibers. When these nanofibers were used for damaged rabbit corneas, laminin-mimetic peptide nanofibers increased keratocyte migration and supported stroma regeneration. These results suggest that laminin-mimetic peptide nanofibers provide a promising injectable, synthetic scaffold system for cornea stroma regeneration

Approach to cataract surgery in glaucoma patients

As both glaucoma and cataract are increasingly frequent with increasing age, glaucoma patients undergoing cataract surgery are common. These patients require a carefully planned approach to achieve not only a successful cataract extraction outcome but, more importantly, long-term control of their glaucoma