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Purpose: To investigate the possible roles of various cytokines or growth factors in the pathogenesis of exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by comparing aqueous humor levels of 14 cytokines between eyes with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) and those with neovascular AMD. Methods: Forty eyes from 40 patients with treatment-naïve exudative AMD consisting of 18 eyes with neovascular AMD and 22 eyes with PCV were studied. Twenty eyes from 20 patients with no retinal pathology who underwent cataract surgery served as controls. Aqueous humor samples were collected just before intravitreal ranibizumab injection in 40 eyes with exudative AMD and before cataract surgery in 20 control eyes. Concentrations of 14 cytokines were determined by chemiluminescence-based ELISA: interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, IL-15, IL-17, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, interferon-γ-inducible protein (IP)-10 and C-reactive protein (CRP). Results: After adjusting for gender, age and axial length, concentrations of CRP and IP-10 were significantly higher in eyes with neovascular AMD or PCV compared with control eyes (p < 0.05), and IP-10 levels were strongly associated with lesion size (p = 0.002). None of the 14 cytokines, including VEGF, were significantly different between eyes with neovascular AMD and those with PCV. Conclusion: Aqueous humor concentrations of CRP and IP-10 were elevated in eyes with PCV or neovascular AMD. IP-10 could be associated with the pathogenesis of neovascular AMD and PCV. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel

Additional gas injection during the early postoperative period is recommended for eyes with unclosed macular holes that have undergone vitrectomy with internal limiting membrane peeling.

No abstract

. Purpose:  We aimed to study the temporal aspects of the postoperative reduction of retinal thickness in eyes with epiretinal membrane after vitrectomy with peeling of the epiretinal membrane and internal limiting membrane. Methods:  In a retrospective study performed as a non‐comparative, interventional case series, 16 eyes from 15 patients with idiopathic epiretinal membrane who underwent vitrectomy and removal of the epiretinal membrane were followed up using optical coherence tomography measurements. Retinal thickness in the macular area was assessed by the foveal thickness and macular volume in a circle 6 mm in diameter. Results:  Scattergrams of the foveal thickness and macular volume were best fitted with exponential curves. The average time constants of the exponential curve for foveal thickness and macular volume changes were 31 days (range 4–109 days) and 36 days (range 5–100 days), respectively. The average expected final values for foveal thickness and macular volume were 334 μm (range 206–408 μm) and 7.53 mm3 (range 6.57–8.66 mm3), respectively, which were significantly greater than those in normal controls (p < 0.0001, t‐test). Conclusions:  Retinal thickness decreases rapidly immediately after surgical removal of the epiretinal membrane and the reduction rate gradually slows thereafter. Approximation of the exponential curve provides an estimation of final retinal thickness after surgical removal of the epiretinal membrane; final thickness is expected to be greater than in normal eyes.