Heavy-load exercise in older adults activates vasculogenesis and has a stronger impact on muscle gene expression than in young adults

This is the final version. Available on open access from BMC via the DOI in this recordAvailability of data and materials: Microarray data from the BSU cohort have been submitted to the GEO database (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/): GSE28422, GSE28392, and GSE25941. Microarray data from the Oslo cohort is available on request.BACKGROUND: A striking effect of old age is the involuntary loss of muscle mass and strength leading to sarcopenia and reduced physiological functions. However, effects of heavy-load exercise in older adults on diseases and functions as predicted by changes in muscle gene expression have been inadequately studied. METHODS: Thigh muscle global transcriptional activity (transcriptome) was analyzed in cohorts of older and younger adults before and after 12-13 weeks heavy-load strength exercise using Affymetrix microarrays. Three age groups, similarly trained, were compared: younger adults (age 24 ± 4 years), older adults of average age 70 years (Oslo cohort) and above 80 years (old BSU cohort). To increase statistical strength, one of the older cohorts was used for validation. Ingenuity Pathway analysis (IPA) was used to identify predicted biological effects of a gene set that changed expression after exercise, and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to visualize differences in muscle gene expressen between cohorts and individual participants as well as overall changes upon exercise. RESULTS: Younger adults, showed few transcriptome changes, but a marked, significant impact was observed in persons of average age 70 years and even more so in persons above 80 years. The 249 transcripts positively or negatively altered in both cohorts of older adults (q-value < 0.1) were submitted to gene set enrichment analysis using IPA. The transcripts predicted increase in several aspects of "vascularization and muscle contractions", whereas functions associated with negative health effects were reduced, e.g., "Glucose metabolism disorder" and "Disorder of blood pressure". Several genes that changed expression after intervention were confirmed at the genome level by containing single nucleotide variants associated with handgrip strength and muscle expression levels, e.g., CYP4B1 (p = 9.2E-20), NOTCH4 (p = 9.7E-8), and FZD4 (p = 5.3E-7). PCA of the 249 genes indicated a differential pattern of muscle gene expression in young and elderly. However, after exercise the expression patterns in both young and old BSU cohorts were changed in the same direction for the vast majority of participants. CONCLUSIONS: The positive impact of heavy-load strength training on the transcriptome increased markedly with age. The identified molecular changes translate to improved vascularization and muscular strength, suggesting highly beneficial health effects for older adults.South East Norway Health AuthorityOslo University Hospital, Ullevaal6th EU Framework ProgramLegat til Forskning, Lovisenberg Diaconal HospitalNational Institutes of Health (NIH)Eli Lilly and Compan

TFOS European Ambassador meeting: Unmet needs and future scientific and clinical solutions for ocular surface diseases

The mission of the Tear Film & Ocular Surface Society (TFOS) is to advance the research, literacy, and educational aspects of the scientific field of the tear film and ocular surface. Fundamental to fulfilling this mission is the TFOS Global Ambassador program. TFOS Ambassadors are dynamic and proactive experts, who help promote TFOS initiatives, such as presenting the conclusions and recommendations of the recent TFOS DEWS II™, throughout the world. They also identify unmet needs, and propose future clinical and scientific solutions, for management of ocular surface diseases in their countries. This meeting report addresses such needs and solutions for 25 European countries, as detailed in the TFOS European Ambassador meeting in Rome, Italy, in September 2019

A Preservative-Free Approach &ndash; Effects on Dry Eye Signs and Symptoms After Cataract Surgery

Per Jensen,1 Christian Nilsen,1 Morten Gundersen,1 Kjell Gunnar Gundersen,1 Rick Potvin,2 Parisa Gazerani,3 Xiangjun Chen,4– 6 Tor P Utheim,3– 8 Øygunn A Utheim4,7,8 1Ifocus Eye Clinic, Haugesund, Norway; 2Science in Vision, Frisco, TX, USA; 3Faculty of Health Sciences, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway; 4Department of Medical Biochemistry, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway; 5Department of Ophthalmology, Sørlandet Hospital Arendal, Arendal, Norway; 6Department of Ophthalmology, Vestre Viken Hospital Trust, Drammen, Norway; 7Department of Ophthalmology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway; 8The Norwegian Dry Eye Clinic, Oslo, NorwayCorrespondence: Per Jensen, Ifocus Eye Clinic, Sørhauggata 111, Haugesund, 5527, Norway, Tel +47 906 13 685, Email [email protected]: To compare the effect of treatment with preservative-free dexamethasone, NSAIDs and trehalose/hyaluronic acid eye drops with the preservative benzalkonium chloride containing dexamethasone and NSAIDs after cataract surgery in dry versus non-dry eyes.Patients and Methods: In this prospective randomized intervention study, dry eye tests were performed before and 6 weeks after cataract surgery. Patients were considered as having dry eye, SDE (sign of dry eye), if at least one of the following dry eye tests were abnormal; corneal fluorescein staining (CFS), non-invasive keratograph breakup time (NIKBUT) or tear osmolarity. Patients with SDE were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Group 1 patients were treated with dexamethasone and bromfenac eye drops with the preservative benzalkonium chloride (BAC). Group 2 patients were treated with preservative-free dexamethasone and preservative-free diclofenac, as well as a preservative-free lubricant with trehalose and hyaluronic acid both before and after surgery. Patients with normal tear film status acted as the control group (group 3) and received same treatment as group 1.Results: A total of 215 patients were enrolled six weeks after surgery, the number of patients with SDE decreased significantly in groups 1 and 2 (p < 0.001). Subjective symptoms and objective measures including osmolarity, NIKBUT, CFS, and tear film thickness (TFT) improved after surgery, tear production remained unchanged, while corneal sensitivity and meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) parameters worsened. In the control group with normal tear-film status, SDE increased significantly after the surgery (p < 0.001). There were no statistically significant differences in tear film parameters between the three groups after surgery.Conclusion: After cataract surgery, patients with mild to moderate dry eyes may experience improved tear film status and reduced symptoms. However, we found no additional beneficial effect on dry eye parameters with treatment with preservative-free dexamethasone, NSAIDs, and lubricants compared to preservative-containing eye drops.Keywords: sign of dry eye, cataract surgery, osmolarity, corneal fluorescein staining, non-invasive keratograph tear break-up time, ocular surface disease index, meibomian gland dysfunctio

Corrigendum to “Future directions in managing aniridia-associated keratopathy” [Surv Ophthalmol 68 (2023) 940–956, (S0039625723000668), (10.1016/j.survophthal.2023.04.003)]

\ua9 2024 The Authors. The authors regret (changes marked in bold): Arianne J.H. van Velthoven a b, Tor P. Utheim M.D. Dr. c d, Maria Notara Dr. e, Dominique Bremond-Gignac M.D. Dr. f g, Francisco C. Figueiredo M.D. Dr. h i, Heli Skottman Dr. j, Daniel Aberdam Dr. g, Julie T. Daniels Dr. k, Giulio Ferrari M.D. Dr. l m, Christina Grupcheva M.D. Dr. n, Carina Koppen M.D. Dr. \ub0, Mohit Parekh Dr. p, Thomas Ritter Dr. q, Vito Romano Dr. r, Stefano Ferrari Dr. s 1, Claus Cursiefen M.D. Dr. e t 1, Neil Lagali Dr. u 1, Vanessa L.S. LaPointe Dr. a 1, Mor M. Dickman M.D. Dr. a b 1 a MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands b University Eye Clinic Maastricht, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, the Netherlands c Department of Medical Biochemistry, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway d Department of Ophthalmology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway e Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany f Ophthalmology Department, University Hospital Necker-Enfants Malades, APHP, Paris Cit\ue9 University, Paris, France g Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers, Sorbonne Paris Cit\ue9 University, Paris, France h Department of Ophthalmology, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK i Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK j Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland k UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London, UK l IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Division of Neuroscience, Cornea and Ocular Surface Disease Unit, Eye Repair Lab, Milan, Italy m Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Dept. Of Ophthalmology, Milan, Italy n Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Medical University of Varna, Varna, Bulgaria o Department of Ophthalmology, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium p Schepens Eye Research Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA q Regenerative Medicine Institute, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland r Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties, Radiological Sciences, and Public Health, Ophthalmology Clinic, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy s Fondazione Banca degli Occhi del Veneto, Venice, Italy t Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany u Division of Ophthalmology, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Link\uf6ping University, Link\uf6ping, Sweden The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience cause