Abstract
Purpose :
Analysis of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) content in the eye may be of great importance for clarification of the pathogenesis of different ophthalmological diseases and evaluation of the efficacy of treatment. However, in practice this analysis is impossible except for during surgical interventions. The aim of the study was to measure and compare BDNF levels in the aqueous humour, tears, and blood serum in patients with age-related cataract.
Methods :
Forty patients (40 eyes) operated for age-related cataract were examined. Exclusion criteria were any serious ophthalmic or somatic pathology, high refractive errors. Mean age of patients was 68.2±7.5 years (range 53-81 years); there were 12 men and 28 women. Collection of stimulated tears was performed by a pipette on the day preceding surgery; the aqueous humour of the anterior chamber and the blood were sampled during the phacoemulsification of a cataract. The concentration of BDNF was measured in the studied biological media by an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) using a Quantikine Elisa test system (R&D Systems, USA) on a ChemWell 2910 automatic analyzer (Awareness Technology Inc., USA).
Results :
On average, the concentration of BDNF was 52.2±25.7 pg/mL in aqueous humour, 121.2±47.7 pg/mL in tears, and 23418±7645 pg/mL in serum. The concentration of BDNF in the aqueous humour correlated well with its content in the tears (Pearson’s correlation coefficient was 0.65, P<0.000) and was lower on average by a factor of 0.44±0.19. The BDNF concentration in serum did not show significant correlation with the BDNF level in aqueous humour or tears.
Conclusions :
In patients with age-related cataract BDNF concentration in the aqueous humour significantly correlated with its content in the tears being lower on average by a factor of 0.44±0.19. The BDNF concentration in serum was much higher and did not show any correlation with the BDNF level in aqueous humour or tears. These data may serve as a basis for approximate evaluation of BDNF concentrations in the aqueous humour using the results of tears analysis.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.