Vytautas Jašinskas

Association of ocular pseudoexfoliation syndrome with ischaemic heart disease, arterial hypertension and diabetes mellitus.

Purpose:  To determine the prevalence of pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PEX) in Lithuanian urban population and its association with ischaemic heart disease (IHD), arterial hypertension (AH) and diabetes mellitus (DM).

The Role of Matrix Metalloproteinases Polymorphisms in Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Abstract Background: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) are responsible for the degradation of extracellular matrix components and play an important role in the physiological and pathological remodeling of tissues. Purpose: To assess the impact of MMP-2 Rs2285053 (C –> T), MMP-3 Rs3025039 (5A –> 6A), and MMP-9 Rs3918242 (C –> T) single nucleotide polymorphism on the development of early age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods: The study group comprised 148 patients with AMD, and the control group enrolled 526 randomly selected persons. The genotyping of MMP-3 Rs3025039, MMP-2 Rs2285053, and MMP-9 Rs3918242 was performed by using the real-time PCR method. Results: The frequency of the MMP-2 (−735) C/T and MMP-3 (−1171) 5A/6A genotypes did not differ significantly between the patients with AMD and the control group, while the MMP-9 (−1562) C/C genotype was more frequently detected in patients with AMD than the control group (73.7% vs. 64.6%, p = 0.048). Logistic regression analysis showed that the MMP-9 (−1562) C/C genotype increased the likelihood of developing early AMD (OR = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.01–2.21; p = 0.046). After the subdivision into the groups by age, a significant difference only in the frequency of the MMP-9 (−1562) C/C genotype was found comparing the AMD patients and the control group younger than 65 years (79.7% vs. 66.4%, p = 0.039). Conclusions: Only MMP-9 Rs3918242 (C –> T) single nucleotide polymorphism was found to play a significant role in the development of AMD, and the effect was more pronounced at the age of less than 65 years.

Early Age-Related Macular Degeneration in Patients with Myocardial Infarction

Purpose: To investigate the prevalence of early age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI). Methods: Enrolled in the study were 262 acute MI patients (MI group), aged 40–64 years, as well as 1,155 non-MI persons, aged 40–64 years, from a random sample (reference group) of the Kaunas population. Results: The prevalence of early AMD in the random sample was 7.3%, while in MI patients, the prevalence was 54.5% (P < 0.001). For all age groups, the prevalence of early AMD was significantly (P < 0.005) higher in MI patients than in reference-group persons. In the reference group, the prevalence of early AMD increased significantly with age, whereas no such trend was observed in the MI group. At the 45- to 54-year-olds, the prevalence was significantly higher in males than in females (9.9% vs. 3.7%; P < 0.05) in the reference group, while overall, the prevalence of early AMD in the males and females of the much larger reference group was 8.6% versus 6.2%, respectively (P > 0.05). It increased more with age for females (3.7% and 10.8% at the age 45–54 and 55–64 years, P < 0.05, respectively) while in males, frequency of AMD did not differ significantly between latter age groups (9.9% vs. 11.6%; P > 0.05). Conclusions: We conclude that the prevalence of early AMD is significantly higher in patients with MI than in a random sample of the population.

Evaluation of Outflow Structures In Vivo after the Phacocanaloplasty

Purpose. To evaluate the in vivo changes in Schlemms canal (SC) and the trabecular meshwork (TM) in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) after phacocanaloplasty using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT). Methods. Ten eyes of nine patients with POAG (6 men and 3 women) who underwent phacocanaloplasty. Preoperative and postoperative visual acuity (VA), intraocular pressure (IOP), and use of glaucoma medications were evaluated. The main outcome measures were the area of SC and TM thickness assessed using AS-OCT before and 12 months after surgery. Results. We found statistically significant reduction in IOP (from 26.4 (8.6) mmHg to 12.9 (2.5) (p < 0.05) mmHg), increase in VA from 0.7 (0.4) to 0.9 (0.2), and decrease in glaucoma medication from 2.6 (1.2) to 1.1 (1.3) at 12 months postoperatively. There was a significant increase in the SC area (3081.7 (842.8) μm2 versus 5098.8 (1190.5) μm2, p < 0.001) and a decrease in mean TM thickness (91.2 (18.6) μm versus 81.3 (15.1) μm, p = 0.001) after surgery. We found negative correlations between SC area and IOP before surgery (r = −0.67, p = 0.03) and also between SC area before and IOP reduction 12 months after the phacocanaloplasty (r = −0.80, p = 0.005). Conclusions. Our results showed statistically significant dilation of SC area and reduction of TM thickness after phacocanaloplasty in POAG patients. The degree of SC expansion was related to the IOP decrease.

Role of MMP-2 (-1306 C/T) Polymorphism in Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

Abstract Purpose: To determine if the frequency of the MMP-2 (-1306 C/T) genotype has an influence on the development of early age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methodology: The study enrolled 387 patients with early AMD and a random sample of 682 healthy persons (control group). The genotyping of MMP-2 (-1306 C/T) was carried out using the real-time polymerase chain reaction method. Results: The analysis of the MMP-2 (-1306 C/T) gene polymorphism did not reveal any differences in the genotype distribution between the patients with AMD and the control subjects. When the study population was divided into age groups, the C/C genotype was more prevalent in the AMD patients aged <65 years than those aged ≥65 years (65.19% versus 53.88%, p = 0.0294), and the C/T genotype was more frequent in the AMD patients aged ≥65 years when compared with the AMD patients aged <65 years (40.78% versus 26.52%, p = 0.0037). Moreover, in the female group younger than 65 years, the frequency of the C/C genotype was greater in the AMD group than the control group (75% versus 58.91%, p = 0.0232). Conclusions: This study showed a significantly greater prevalence of the C/C and C/T genotypes in the patients with AMD younger than 65 years and those aged ≥65 years, respectively. Moreover, the AMD women aged <65 years were the carriers of the C/C genotype significantly more frequently than their control counterparts.

A new maximum color contrast sensitivity test for detecting early changes of visual function in age-related macular degeneration

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE To determine the association between age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and color perception established by the Farnsworth-Munsell 100 hue (F-M 100) and maximum color contrast sensitivity (MCCS) tests. MATERIALS AND METHODS We performed a case-control study, which comprised of 100 patients with AMD and 100 healthy controls. To test visual acuity (VA), a typical Snellen chart was used. The computerized F-M 100 and MCCS programs were used for color discrimination. RESULTS The results of VA, and the F-M 100 and MCCS tests in the healthy controls were statistically significantly better than in the patients with AMD (1.0 vs. 0.82±0.16, P=0.005; 87.39±24.11 vs. 185.39±74.43, P=0.005; 1.33±1.17 vs. 1.96±0.46, P=0.005, respectively). When VA was 1.0 in patients with AMD, the total error scores of the F-M 100 test and MCCS test compared with healthy persons were even worse (166.09±66.57 vs. 87.39±24.11, P=0.002; 1.67±0.92 vs. 1.33±1.17, P=0.001, respectively). Analysis of the results of patients with AMD compared to healthy controls showed the highest error score in the blue color range. CONCLUSIONS The results of the color contrast sensitivity test decreased by half in patients with AMD compared with ophthalmologically healthy patients when they performed the F-M 100 test and by one and half when they performed a MCCS test in the blue color range.

Regos nervo disko drūzų sąsajos su spalvų jusle

Tyrimo tikslas. Nustatyti ribinio spalvinio kontrastinio jautrumo ir Munsell-Farnsworth 100 atspalvių atrinkimo tyrimų rodmenų ir regėjimo astrumo sąsajas, esant regos nervo disko drūzų. Tyrimo medžiaga ir metodai. Atliktas 137 pacientų atvejo–kontrolės tyrimas. Istirti 37 pacientai (67 akys), kuriems diagnozuotos regos nervo disko drūzos ir 100 sveikų žmonių (200 akių) kontrolinė grupė. Nekoreguotas ir geriausias koreguotas regėjimo astrumas vertintas naudojant Landolto žiedus (C optotipais), pagal Sneleno principą. Spalvinio kontrastinio jautrumo tyrimui naudoti kompiuteriniai Farnsworth-Munsell 100 atspalvių ir ribinio spalvinio kontrastinio jautrumo tyrimai. Rezultatai. Kontrolinės grupės tiriamųjų, ribinis spalvinis kontrastinis jautrumas ir Farnsworth- Munsell 100 atspalvių atrinkimo tyrimo rezultatai buvo geresni nei pacientų (1,94±0,66 palyginti su 2,2±0,85, p=0,02; 94,1±53,9 palyginti su 120,6±61, p=0,003, atitinkamai). Isvada. Tyrimo duomenimis, regos nervo disko drūzos susijusios su spalvų juslės sumažėjimu.