Vascular endothelial growth factor levels in tears of patients with retinal vein occlusion.

Abstract

PURPOSE:

We measured vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels in tear fluid and serum in patients with retinal vein occlusion (RVO).

PATIENTS AND METHODS:

Eight patients with RVO due to secondary macular oedema were examined. VEGF levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. All patients had a full ophthalmic examination (visual acuity, slit lamp biomicroscopy, perimetry, and fluorescein angiography). Central retinal thickness (CRT) was examined using optical coherence tomography (OCT). Tear and serum samples were collected and examinations were performed at diagnosis and 1 and 4 weeks later.

RESULTS:

VEGF levels in the tears of RVO eyes were significantly higher than in fellow eyes at diagnosis and after both 1 and 4 weeks (paired t test, p1 = 0.01, p2 = 0.02, p3 = 0.006). We found a weak but significant positive correlation between VEGF levels in tear fluid and serum of patients with RVO (r = 0.21), while this correlation tended to be stronger between the fellow eyes and serum levels (r = 0.33).

CONCLUSION:

To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to report an increased level of VEGF in the tear fluid of patients with RVO. Alterations of VEGF levels in tears may be useful for determining stages of RVO. This non-invasive and objective method may also be helpful for estimating the severity of macular oedema and efficacy of treatment.

• Authors: M Kasza, Z Balogh, L Biro, B Ujhelyi, J Damjanovich, A Csutak, J Várdai, A Berta, V Nagy
• Journal: Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie (Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol) Vol. 253 Issue 9 Pg. 1581-6 (Sep 2015) ISSN: 1435-702X [Electronic] Germany
• PMID: 25956998 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Eye Proteins
• VEGFA protein, human
• Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A
• tear proteins

Topics

• Aged
• Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
• Eye Proteins (metabolism)
• Female
• Fluorescein Angiography
• Humans
• Macular Edema (complications, diagnosis, metabolism)
• Male
• Microscopy, Acoustic
• Middle Aged
• Pilot Projects
• Retinal Vein Occlusion (diagnosis, etiology, metabolism)
• Tears (metabolism)
• Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A (metabolism)
• Visual Acuity (physiology)
• Visual Field Tests