Luis Pablo Julvez

Current Perspectives on the Use of Anti-VEGF Drugs as Adjuvant Therapy in Glaucoma

The approval of one of the first anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration one decade ago marked the beginning of a new era in the management of several sight-threatening retinal diseases. Since then, emerging evidence has demonstrated the utility of these therapies for the treatment of other ocular conditions characterized by elevated VEGF levels. In this article we review current perspectives on the use of anti-VEGF drugs as adjuvant therapy in the management of neovascular glaucoma (NVG). The use of anti-VEGFs for modifying wound healing in glaucoma filtration surgery (GFS) is also reviewed. Selected studies investigating the use of anti-VEGF agents or antimetabolites in GFS or the management of NVG have demonstrated that these agents can improve surgical outcomes. However, anti-VEGF agents have yet to demonstrate specific advantages over the more established agents commonly used today. Further studies are needed to evaluate the duration of action, dosing intervals, and toxicity profile of these treatments.

Utilidad de los nuevos dispositivos de tomografía de coherencia óptica de dominio espectral para el estudio de las demencias degenerativas

Neurodegenerative diseases group a family of cognitive disorders such as multiple sclerosis or Alzheimer, Parkinson or Creutzfeldt-Jacobs. Said cognitive disorders are due to an increase in cellular death processes and are associated to changes in behavior and alteration of many bodily activities including balance, movement, speech, breathing and cardiac function.Alzheimer’s disease is the most frequent cause of dementia in old age. It is estimated that in our country 500,000 people have this disease and, due to the progressive aging of our population, this number could quadruple in the next 50 years with devastating consequences not only for the sufferers and their families but also to the very stability of our health system. Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by the presence in the brain of patients of 2 aberrant structures, senile plates and neurofibrillary tangles, loss of synapses (mainly between hippocampus and cortical neurons) and axon deterioration. In Parkinson’s disease there is a selective loss of dopaminergic neurons, mainly through brain basal ganglions. Mammal retina contains dopaminergic neurons which are in charge of regulating the receptive field of ganglionic cells to provide

Study of Association between Pre-Senile Cataracts and the Polymorphisms rs2228000 in XPC and rs1042522 in p53 in Spanish Population

Purpose To determine if the presence of certain polymorphisms in the DNA repair gene XPC and the apoptosis inductor gene p53 is associated with pre-senile cataract development. Methods We have performed a retrospective study over three groups of patients. The group with pre-senile cataract formed by 72 patients younger than 55 with cataract surgery. The group with senile cataract formed by 101 patients older than 55 with cataract surgery. The group without cataract was formed by 42 subjects older than 55 without lens opacities. We analyzed the presence of SNP rs2228000 from XPC and rs1042522 from p53; and the relationship between risk factors such as smoking, alcohol intake, hypertension or diabetes. Results The comparison of the genotype distribution in XPC, within the different groups, did not show any statistically significant association in any of our analysis (p>0,05). The comparison of the genotype distribution in p53 within the different groups did not show any statistically significant association (p>0,05); except for the comparison between the pre-senile cataract group and the group with senile cataract where the genotype Pro/Pro (C/C) in the recessive inheritance model showed a higher risk for developing pre-senile cataract (p = 0,031; OR = 1.04–15.97). This association decreased when we performed the analysis adjusting by the studied risk factors (p = 0.056). Conclusions Allelic variants in the gene XPC are not associated with an increased risk for developing pre-senile cataract. The presence of the genotype Pro/Pro in p53 might be associated with a major risk for developing pre-senile cataract.