Abstract
Purpose :
Analysis of the ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) 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 CNTF levels in the aqueous humor, tears, and blood serum in patients with age-related cataract.
Methods :
Fifty-five patients (55 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 68.7±7.9 years (range 53-85 years); there were 16 men and 39 women. Collection of stimulated tears was performed by a pipette on the day preceding surgery; the aqueous humor of the anterior chamber and the blood were sampled during the phacoemulsification of a cataract. The concentration of CNTF 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 CNTF was 55.8±25.0 pg/mL in aqueous humor, 38.6±17.6 pg/mL in tears, and 5.76±5.39 pg/mL in serum. The concentration of CNTF in the aqueous humor correlated well with its content in the tears (Pearson’s correlation coefficient was 0.68, P<0.000) and was higher on average by a factor of 1.50±0.51. The CNTF concentration in serum did not show significant correlation with the CNTF level in aqueous humor or tears.
Conclusions :
In patients with age-related cataract CNTF concentration in the aqueous humor significantly correlated with its content in the tears being higher on average by a factor of 1.50±0.51. The CNTF concentration in serum was much lower and did not show any correlation with the CNTF level in aqueous humor or tears. These data may serve as a basis for approximate evaluation of CNTF concentrations in the aqueous humor using the results of tears analysis.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017.