Objective To investigate the nature of the suprachoroidal fluid by detecting the concentration of total protein (TP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), albumin (ALB), total cholesterol (CHOL), total bilirubin (TBIL) in suprachoroidal liquid of patients who have rhegmatogenous retinal detachment with choroid detachment (RRDCD). Methods Eighteen RRDCD patients (18 eyes) who underwent vitrectomy were enrolled in this study. There were 10 males (10 eyes) and 8 females (8 eyes), 8 right eyes and 10 left eyes. There were 8 patients with age of ≤55 years, 10 patients with age of ＞55 years. There were 7 patients with duration of ≤30 days, 11 patients with duration of ＞30 days. There were 7 eyes with diopters of ≥−6.0 D, 11 eyes with diopters of ＜−6.0 D. There were 11 eyes with class C proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR), 7 eyes with class D PVR. Suprachoroidal fluid samples were collected from all the patients, and took preoperative serum samples as RRDCD group. Ten serum samples of normal people were set as control group. The concentration of TP, LDH, ALB, CHOL, TBIL in all the subjects were measured. The properties of the suprachoroidal fluid were identified by Light standard and concentration standard of ALB, CHOL, TBIL. Results There was no difference on the concentration of TP, LDH, ALB, CHOL, TBIL from suprachoroidal fluid samples in the patients with different age, sex, eyes, diopter, PVR grade (P＞0.05). There was no difference on the concentration of TP, LDH, ALB, CHOL, TBIL from preoperative serum samples in the patients between RRDCD group and control group (P＞0.05). There was no difference on the concentration of ALB and CHOL from suprachoroidal fluid samples and preoperative serum samples in the RRDCD patients (P＞0.05), but there were significant differences on the concentration of TP, LDH, TBIL (P＜0.05). According to the Light standard, there were 17 cases of exudates and 1 case of transudate. According to the concentration standard of ALB, CHOL and TBIL, there were 14, 18, and 16 cases of exudates, and 4, 0, and 2 cases of transudate, respectively. There was no difference on the identification result of Light standard and concentration standard of ALB, CHOL, TBIL (χ2=2.090, 1.029, 0.364; P＞0.05). Conclusion The suprachoroidal fluid of RRDCD patients composed of TP, LDH, CHOL and TBIL. The suprachoroidal fluid is more likely to be exudate.
ObjectiveTo observe and analyze the short-term effects of intravitreal injection of Conbercept (IVC) on the expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP inhibitor-2 (TIMP-2) in the aqueous humor of eyes with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). MethodsA prospective clinical study. From March 2024 to June 2024, 30 consecutive patients with 30 eyes with PDR (PDR group) undergoing IVC combined with pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) at Department of Ophthalmology of The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology were included in the study, along with 20 patients with 20 eyes undergoing cataract surgery (control group) during the same period. In the PDR group, IVC treatment was performed 3 to 7 days before PPV, and 0.05-0.10 ml aqueous humor was collected before IVC and before PPV. In the control group, 0.05-0.10 ml aqueous humor was collected before cataract surgery. The levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), MMP-2, and TIMP-2 in the aqueous humor were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. For normally distributed data, independent samples t-test were used for comparison between two groups; for non-normally distributed data, the Mann-Whitney U test was used. Correlation analysis was performed using Pearson's correlation coefficient. ResultsThere were no statistically significant differences in age (Z=－1.810) and gender composition (χ2=3.450) between the PDR group and the control group (P＞0.05). Before IVC, VEGF and MMP-2 expression levels were (0.23±0.10), (2.11±1.32) ng/ml and (0.12±0.03), (0.53±0.26) ng/ml in patients' aqueous fluid in PDR group and control group, respectively. The expression level of TIMP-2 and the ratio of MMP-2/TIMP-2 were (0.99±0.26), (1.76±0.11) ng/ml and 2.04 (1.19, 2.98), 0.36 (0.15, 0.39), respectively. Compared with the control group, the expression levels of VEGF and MMP-2 in aqueous humor in PDR group (t=－5.030, －5.260) and the ratio of MMP-2/TIMP-2 (Z=－5.740) were significantly increased, with statistical significance (P＜0.01). The expression level of TIMP-2 was significantly lower than that of control group, the difference was statistically significant (t=12.120, P＜0.01). After IVC, the expression levels of VEGF and MMP-2 in aqueous humor of PDR patients were (0.13±0.03) and (2.11±1.32) ng/ml, respectively. The expression level of TIMP-2 and the ratio of MMP-2/ TIMP-2 were (0.95±0.28) ng/ml and 1.57 (1.02, 3.13), respectively. Compared with before IVC, the expression level of VEGF in aqueous humor in PDR group after IVC was significantly decreased, and the difference was statistically significant (t=6.080, P＜0.01). The expression levels of MMP-2 (t=1.220), TIMP-2 (t=0.290) and the ratio of MMP-2/TIMP-2 (Z=－0.260) were not significantly different (P=0.270, 0.780, 0.800). After IVC, there was no significant difference in VEGF expression level between PDR group and control group (t=－1.200, P=0.240). The expression level of MMP-2 was still significantly increased (t=－5.880), the expression level of TIMP-2 was still significantly decreased (t=11.520), and the ratio of MMP-2/TIMP-2 was still significantly increased (Z=－5.780), with statistical significance (P＜0.01). Correlation analysis showed that VEGF was positively correlated with MMP-2 in aqueous humor of PDR patients before IVC (r=0.590, P＜0.01). ConclusionsIVC can effectively reduce the level of VEGF in the aqueous humor of eyes with PDR in the short term, but it has no significant effect on the levels of MMP-2 and TIMP-2.