Targeting Oxidative Stress for Treatment of Glaucoma and Optic Neuritis

Glaucoma is a neurodegenerative disease of the eye and it is one of the leading causes of blindness. Glaucoma is characterized by progressive degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and their axons, namely, the optic nerve, usually associated with elevated intraocular pressure (IOP). Current glaucoma therapies target reduction of IOP, but since RGC death is the cause of irreversible vision loss, neuroprotection may be an effective strategy for glaucoma treatment. One of the risk factors for glaucoma is increased oxidative stress, and drugs with antioxidative properties including valproic acid and spermidine, as well as inhibition of apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1, an enzyme that is involved in oxidative stress, have been reported to prevent glaucomatous retinal degeneration in mouse models of glaucoma. Optic neuritis is a demyelinating inflammation of the optic nerve that presents with visual impairment and it is commonly associated with multiple sclerosis, a chronic demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. Although steroids are commonly used for treatment of optic neuritis, reduction of oxidative stress by approaches such as gene therapy is effective in ameliorating optic nerve demyelination in preclinical studies. In this review, we discuss oxidative stress as a therapeutic target for glaucoma and optic neuritis

A simplified numerical model for evaluating sediment control by open-type sabo dams in the Joganji River basin

The present study proposes a method to estimate sediment runoff by introducing a dam function of the relationship between inflow sediment and sediment runoff through a slit dam. The model can process rainfall runoff, sediment yield and runoff of a mountainous basin, and the model is applied to the upper reaches of the Joganji River basin, which is known for its huge amount of sediment runoff and intense bed variation because of the sediment yield caused by the earthquake in 1858. The performance of the calculations of sediment control of the slit dam is evaluated by the model. The result indicates that sediment deposition is significantly changed by sediment runoff. The proposed method can be expected to evaluate sediment transport with sabo dams on a basin scale

Association between Combined Structure Function Index and Glaucoma Severity

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between combined structure function index (CSFI) and standard automated perimetry (SAP) parameters such as mean deviation (MD) and visual field index (VFI) in open-angle glaucoma (OAG). We retrospectively reviewed medical records from September 2009 to July 2015, which included 195 eyes of 195 patients with OAG or normal-tension glaucoma who underwent SAP and optical coherence tomography on the same day (male: female, 128 : 67; mean age, 61.4 ± 11.3 years; mean spherical equivalent, −2.39 ± 2.3 D). We divided participants into three stages based on MD value: early, MD > −6 dB; middle, −6 dB ≥ MD ≥ −12 dB; and advanced, MD < 12 dB. We then evaluated correlations between CSFI and SAP parameters in each stage using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Mean CSFI (%), mean MD (dB), and VFI (%) in each stage were early (22.4, −2.13, and 94.0); middle (47.9, −8.78, and 75.4); and advanced (68.3, −17.32, and 49.0), respectively. Correlations between CSFI and whole, early, middle, and advanced MD were −0.88 (p<0.001), −0.68, −0.24, and −0.76, respectively. Correlations between CSFI and whole, early, middle, and advanced VFI were −0.86 (p<0.001), −0.59, −0.20, and −0.83, respectively. Consistency between CSFI and SAP indices in middle-stage glaucoma was low

A simplified numerical model for evaluating sediment control by open-type sabo dams in the Joganji River basin

The present study proposes a method to estimate sediment runoff by introducing a dam function of the relationship between inflow sediment and sediment runoff through a slit dam. The model can process rainfall runoff, sediment yield and runoff of a mountainous basin, and the model is applied to the upper reaches of the Joganji River basin, which is known for its huge amount of sediment runoff and intense bed variation because of the sediment yield caused by the earthquake in 1858. The performance of the calculations of sediment control of the slit dam is evaluated by the model. The result indicates that sediment deposition is significantly changed by sediment runoff. The proposed method can be expected to evaluate sediment transport with sabo dams on a basin scale