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The aim of the present study was to report the importance of pegaptanib sodium (PGSD) injection treatment for vascular active vitreoretinopathy (VAVR). A total of 82 patients with VAVR diagnosed by increasing subretinal exudation were enrolled and received a single intravitreal injection of PGSD. The efficacies of PGSD for patients with VAVR were analyzed using photography, fluorescein angiography and optical coherence tomography. The pathological changes in vascular activity, amount of exudation and visual acuity between the PGSD, and placebo group were also compared. The results demonstrated that the PGSD injection significantly decreased subretinal exudation and leakage compared with the placebo when assessed using fluorescein angiography in a 12-month follow-up. It was observed that the PGSD injection inhibited inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor α for patients with VAVR compared with the placebo. Furthermore, results demonstrated that the average inflammation score and intraocular pressure was significantly decreased compared with the placebo. Visual acuity was improved from 1.3 to 0.7 in the majority of patients in the PGSD group. In conclusion, the outcomes of the present study indicate that the PGSD intravitreal injection is an efficient treatment option for patients with VAVR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curcumin has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and has been widely used to treat or prevent neurodegenerative diseases. However, the mechanisms underlying the neuroprotective effects of curcumin are not well known. In the present study, the effect of curcumin on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BV2 mouse microglia cells was investigated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays of the culture medium and western blotting of cell lysates. The results showed that curcumin significantly inhibited the LPS-induced expression and release of heat shock protein 60 (HSP60) in the BV2 cells. The level of heat shock factor (HSF)-1 was upregulated in LPS-activated BV2 microglia, indicating that the increased expression of HSP60 was driven by HSF-1 activation. However, the increased HSF-1 level was downregulated by curcumin. Extracellular HSP60 is a ligand of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4), and the level of the latter was increased in the LPS-activated BV2 microglia and inhibited by curcumin. The activation of TLR-4 is known to be associated with the activation of myeloid differentiation primary response 88 (MyD88) and nuclear factor (NF)-κB, with the subsequent production of proinflammatory and neurotoxic factors. In the present study, curcumin demonstrated marked suppression of the LPS-induced expression of MyD88, NF-κB, caspase-3, inducible nitric oxide synthase, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 in the microglia. These results indicate that curcumin may exert its neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting microglial activation through the HSP60/TLR-4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling wpathway. Therefore, curcumin may be useful for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases that are associated with microglial activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]