Fifteen-year incidence of presbyopia in south India: the Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study.

Purpose: The Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study III (APEDS III) is a 15-year follow-up involving 5395 participants (83.7%) first examined in APEDS I (1996-2000). Our aim was to determine the incidence of presbyopia and sociodemographic risk factors in those aged 16 years and above at baseline.

Potential Involvements of Anterior Segment Dysgenesis-Associated Genes in Primary Congenital Glaucoma.

Background: The anterior segment of the eye plays a crucial role in maintaining the normal intraocular pressure and vision. Developmental defects in the anterior segment structures lead to anterior segment dysgenesis (ASD) and primary congenital glaucoma (PCG), which share overlapping clinical features. Several genes have been mapped and characterized in ASD, some of which are also involved in other glaucoma phenotypes.

Arachidonic acid metabolism regulates the development of retinopathy of prematurity among preterm infants.

Extremely preterm infants are at risk of developing retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), characterized by neovascularization and neuroinflammation leading to blindness. Polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) supplementation is recommended in preterm infants to lower the risk of ROP, however, with no significant improvement in visual acuity. Reasonably, this could be as a result of the non-consideration of PUFA metabolizing enzymes.

Changing trends in barriers to accessing eye care services in rural South India: results from the longitudinal Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study III (APEDS III) cohort.

Purpose: To assess the changing trends in barriers towards accessing eye care in a rural population cohort from Southern India.

Methods: This is a population-based longitudinal cohort of participants (the Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease study [APEDS]) from three rural regions of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh who were evaluated at baseline (APEDS I; 1996-2000), along with follow-ups at 10 years (APEDS II; 2009-10) and 15 years (APEDS III; 2012-2016). At follow-up, all participants 30 years and above were administered a structured questionnaire on barriers to uptake of eye care services.

Incidence of primary open angle glaucoma in the Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study (APEDS).

Background: To report 15-year incidence rate of primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) in the Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study (APEDS).

Methods: A population-based longitudinal study was carried out at three rural study sites. Phakic participants aged ≥40 years who participated at baseline (APEDS I) and the mean 15-year follow-up visit (APEDS III) were included.

Visual impairment and blindness due to retinitis pigmentosa in India: 15-year follow-up of the Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study cohort.

Purpose: To assess the incidence, visual impairment, and blindness due to retinitis pigmentosa (RP) in a rural southern Indian cohort.

Methods: This is a population-based longitudinal cohort study of participants with RP from the Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study (APEDS) cohorts I and III, respectively. The study included participants with RP of APEDS I who were followed until APEDS III.

Association of Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Interleukin Genes with Microbial Keratitis in a South Indian Population.

Background: To examine the relationship between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in interleukin (IL) genes and keratitis and its clinical manifestations.

Methods: SNPs in , , , and were analysed. Differences in frequencies of alleles, genotypes and haplotypes between cases and controls as well as associations between SNPs and clinical variables were calculated by χ2 tests with odds ratios.

Regional variation in the incidence of pseudo-exfoliation in the Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study (APEDS).

Background: To report the 15-year incidence rate of pseudo-exfoliation (PXF),  PXF glaucoma and regional variation among rural participants in the Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study (APEDS) III.

Methods: This population-based longitudinal study was carried out at three rural study sites. Individuals of all ages who participated at baseline with a mean 15-year follow-up visit were included.

Barriers to uptake of referral eye care services among the elderly in residential care: the Hyderabad Ocular Morbidity in Elderly Study (HOMES).

Background: To report on the barriers to uptake of eye care services after referral in the elderly in 'homes for the aged' in Hyderabad, India.

Methods: Individuals aged ≥60 years were recruited from 41 'homes for the aged' and were examined in the 'make-shift' clinics in homes. All participants who had vision impairment or needed further eye examination other than spectacles were referred to the higher centres for 'free services'.

GLIS1 regulates trabecular meshwork function and intraocular pressure and is associated with glaucoma in humans.

Chronically elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is the major risk factor of primary open-angle glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness. Dysfunction of the trabecular meshwork (TM), which controls the outflow of aqueous humor (AqH) from the anterior chamber, is the major cause of elevated IOP. Here, we demonstrate that mice deficient in the Krüppel-like zinc finger transcriptional factor GLI-similar-1 (GLIS1) develop chronically elevated IOP.

LncRNA VEAL2 regulates PRKCB2 to modulate endothelial permeability in diabetic retinopathy.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as key regulators of endothelial cell function. Here, we investigated the role of a novel vascular endothelial-associated lncRNA (VEAL2) in regulating endothelial permeability. Precise editing of veal2 loci in zebrafish (veal2 ) induced cranial hemorrhage.

Peters Anomaly in Nail-Patella Syndrome: A Case Report and Clinico-Genetic Correlation.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to report the clinicopathological features of Peters anomaly in a child with nail-patella syndrome.

Methods: Nail-patella syndrome (NPS) is a rare autosomal dominant connective tissue disorder characterized by several anomalies of the extremities, joints and nails, glomerulopathy, and rarely ocular involvement. NPS is caused by heterozygous loss-of-functional mutations in the LMX1B gene that encodes the LIM homeodomain proteins.

An interplay of microglia and matrix metalloproteinase MMP9 under hypoxic stress regulates the opticin expression in retina.

Inflammation plays a key role in the pathogenesis of retinal vascular diseases. We have shown earlier an increase in the activity of matrix metalloproteinases in the vitreous and tears of preterm born babies with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) compared to those with no-ROP leading to a shift in the balance of angiogenic (vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF], matrix metalloproteinase [MMPs], complement component [C3]) and anti-angiogenic (opticin, thrombospondin) in ROP eyes. We now confirmed that tear MMP levels in premature infants perfectly correlates with disease severity.

Fifteen-Year Incidence Rate of Primary Angle Closure Disease in the Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study.

Purpose: To report on the 15-year incidence of primary angle closure disease (PACD) among participants aged ≥40 years in rural southern India DESIGN: Population-based longitudinal incidence rate study METHODS: Setting: 3 rural study centres.

Study Population: Phakic participants aged ≥40 years who participated in both examination time points.

Observation Procedures: All participants at the baseline and at the mean 15-year follow-up visit underwent a detailed interview, anthropometry, blood pressure measurement, and comprehensive eye examination.

Binding of Gtf2i-β/δ transcription factors to the ARMS2 gene leads to increased circulating HTRA1 in AMD patients and in vitro.

The disease-initiating molecular events for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a multifactorial retinal disease affecting many millions of elderly individuals worldwide, are still unknown. Of the over 30 risk and protective loci so far associated with AMD through whole genome-wide association studies (GWAS), the Age-Related Maculopathy Susceptibility 2 (ARMS2) gene locus represents one of the most highly associated risk regions for AMD. A unique insertion/deletion (in/del) sequence located immediately upstream of the High Temperature Requirement A1 (HTRA1) gene in this region confers high risk for AMD.

Incidence, Incident Causes, and Risk Factors of Visual Impairment and Blindness in a Rural Population in India: 15-Year Follow-up of the Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study.

Purpose: To report 15-year incidence rate of visual loss (blindness and visual impairment [VI]), causes, and risk factors for participants in Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study III (APEDS III).

Design: Population-based cohort study.

Methods: From 2012 to 2016, all rural participants were interviewed and underwent a comprehensive eye examination, including dilated fundus examination and imaging.

Fifteen-year incidence rate and risk factors of pterygium in the Southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

Purpose: To report 15-year incidence rate and associated risk factors of pterygium among people aged 30 years and above at baseline in the rural clusters of longitudinal Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study (APEDS III).

Methods: The baseline APEDS I included 7771 participants of which 6447 (83%) were traced and 5395 (83.7%) were re-examined in APEDS III.

Toll-like receptor gene polymorphisms in patients with keratitis.

Objective: To investigate differences in SNPs in TLR genes between people who had keratitis and controls in an Indian population.

Methods: 145 cases of keratitis and 189 matched controls were recruited. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood.

Loss of PRSS56 function leads to ocular angle defects and increased susceptibility to high intraocular pressure.

Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness, affecting up to 70 million people worldwide. High intraocular pressure (IOP) is a major risk factor for glaucoma. It is well established that inefficient aqueous humor (AqH) outflow resulting from structural or functional alterations in ocular drainage tissues causes high IOP, but the genes and pathways involved are poorly understood.

A Systematic Investigation on Complement Pathway Activation in Diabetic Retinopathy.

The complement system plays a crucial role in retinal homeostasis. While the proteomic analysis of ocular tissues in diabetic retinopathy (DR) has shown the deposition of complement proteins, their exact role in the pathogenesis of DR is yet unclear. We performed a detailed investigation of the role of the complement system by evaluating the levels of major complement proteins including C3, C1q, C4b, Complement Factor B (CFB), and Complement Factor H (CFH) and their activated fragments from both the classical and alternative pathways in vitreous humor and serum samples from proliferative DR (PDR) patients and controls.

A Robust Model System for Retinal Hypoxia: Live Imaging of Calcium Dynamics and Gene Expression Studies in Primary Human Mixed Retinal Culture.

The detailed mechanisms underlying oxidative stress that leads to neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in retinal vascular conditions, including diabetic retinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity etc., remain largely unexplored mainly due to a lack of suitable disease models that can simulate the inherent neuron-glia interactions in human retina. Specifically, establishment of a mixed retinal culture (MRC) containing both neuron and glial cell types remains a challenge due to different conditions required for their optimal growth and differentiation.

Ocular Ciliopathies: Genetic and Mechanistic Insights into Developing Therapies.

Developing suitable medicines for genetic diseases requires a detailed understanding of not only the pathways that cause the disease, but also the identification of the genetic components involved in disease manifestation. This article focuses on the complexities associated with ocular ciliopathies - a class of debilitating disorders of the eye caused by ciliary dysfunction. Ciliated cell types have been identified in both the anterior and posterior segments of the eye.

Glaucoma-associated long-term mortality in a rural cohort from India: the Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study.

Aim: To evaluate glaucoma-associated mortality in a rural cohort in India.

Methods: The study cohort comprised individuals aged 40 years and above who took part in the Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study (APEDS1) during 1996-2000. All participants underwent detailed comprehensive eye examination.