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The objective of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of two intravitreal antiangiogenic drugs, ranibizumab and aflibercept, in a Mexican population over a period of 5 years, evaluating the improvement in visual acuity (VA) and central retinal thickness (CRT) in a real-world scenario. This is a retrospective study with subjects diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy (DR), proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), and diabetic macular edema (DME) receiving intravitreal injections of ranibizumab and/or aflibercept. In this study, we analyzed 588 eyes of 294 patients who received intravitreal antiangiogenic injections. The results showed an improvement regardless of antiangiogenic treatment or diagnosis in both VA and CRT. We found that both aflibercept and ranibizumab improved VA, while subjects with DME responded less to antiangiogenic treatment (p < 0.05), and that this difference did not correspond to the CRT measured by OCT. These results support evidence that intravitreal antiangiogenic medications are effective for ophthalmic complications of diabetes in our population; however, damage to visual structures is not reversed in most patients. And that the perception by the patient (VA) and that of the ophthalmologist (CRT) do not completely correlate in our study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigated the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination on seroprevalence in a cohort of healthcare workers (HCW) at an ophthalmic medical center. IgG antibodies against the N, S1, and S2 antigens of SARS-CoV-2 as well as their serum neutralizing activity were determined. In the present study, we observed that 98.4% of HCW were seropositive for S1/S2 proteins of SARS-CoV-2 due to the national vaccination program. Interestingly, 78.4% of the participants had anti-N protein antibodies, suggesting previous COVID-19 infection. We also evaluated the neutralizing antibodies and found that the mean value was high (90.7%). These results indicate that our HCWs cohort presented a robust hybrid humoral response owing to the massive national vaccination program and natural infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers (HCWs) are at a considerable risk of being infected with SARS-CoV-2; among them, HCWs from ophthalmology departments are more prone to develop severe symptoms. In Mexico City, the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among HCWs is 30%. The present work aims to describe the seroprevalence among HCWs at an Ophthalmological Reference Centre in Mexico City. A self-report questionnaire, RT-PCR test and detection of serum IgG/IgM antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 were performed among HCWs at the Institute of Ophthalmology "Conde de Valenciana". A total of 169 HCWs participated in the study. None of the participants declared severe symptoms, and only 15% showed three or more symptoms. The results showed that 32% of the participants were RT-PCR+ (54/169), and 20% (35/169) presented IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Thirteen percent of the RT-PCR+ subjects were IgG positive, and 7.6% of the RT-PCR− participants were IgG positive. The presence of three or more symptoms correlated with the presence of IgG antibodies, as well as Ct values of < 32 (p < 0,05). Most of the HCW cohort showed mild symptoms, and 69% of the RT-PCR+ participants did not show IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Seroprevalence was significantly associated with the presentation of COVID-19-associated symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human amniotic membrane mesenchymal stem cells (hAM-MSC) secrete a myriad of components with immunosuppressive activities. In the present research, we aimed to describe the effect of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) secreted by hAM-MSCs on neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) release and to characterize the role of its receptors (EP2/EP4) in PAD-4 and NFκB activity in neutrophils. Human peripheral blood neutrophils were ionomycin-stimulated in the presence of hAM-MSC conditioned medium (CM) treated or not with the selective PGE2 inhibitor MF-63, PGE2, EP2/EP4 agonists, and the selective PAD-4 inhibitor GSK-484. NET release, PAD-4, and NFκB activation were analyzed. Ionomycin induced NET release, which was inhibited in the presence of hAM-MSC-CM, while CM from hAM-MSCs treated with MF-63 prevented NET release inhibition. PGE2 and EP2/EP4 agonists, and GSK-484 inhibited NET release. EP2/EP4 agonists and GSK-484 inhibited H3-citrullination but did not affect PAD-4 protein expression. Finally, PGE2 and EP2/EP4 agonists and GSK-484 increased NFκB phosphorylation. Taken together, these results suggest that hAM-MSC exert their immunomodulatory activities through PGE2, inhibiting NET release in a PAD-4-dependent pathway. This research proposes a new mechanism by which hAM-MSC exert their activities when modulating the innate immune response and inhibiting NET release. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Pterygium is an ocular surface disease characterized by the invasion of fibrovascular tissue from the bulbar conjunctiva to the cornea and is associated with abnormal tear function caused by changes in tear composition and osmolarity. In this study, the effect of two different surgical techniques to remove primary pterygium: conjunctival autograft surgery (CAG) and amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT), on changes in MUC2 and MUC5AC tear mucins concentration were evaluated., Methods: Forty-four patients (>18 years old) with primary unilateral pterygium (> 1.0 mm long, measured from the limbus to the apex on the cornea) were randomly enrolled, and assigned to the AMT or CAG group by using the permuted block technique. Patients with systemic inflammatory diseases or other eye comorbidities were excluded from the study. Tear break-up time (TBUT) and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) assessments were performed before surgery and at 1, 3, and 6 months after surgery. Tears were collected concurrently with the clinical evaluations, and MUC2 and MUC5AC concentrations were subsequently measured by means of ELISA., Results: At 6 months after CAG or AMT, TBUT and BCVA were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in comparison with the baseline values in the study subjects. The tear mucin concentrations of both MUC2 and MUC5AC were significantly higher (P < 0.0001) in patients with pterygium before any surgical procedure than in healthy individuals. The concentration of MUC2 increased at 1 and 3 months after CAG surgery and decreased at 6 months; however, the MUC2 concentration decreased on the AMT group in all time point measurements. Interestingly, the MUC5AC concentration significantly increased at 1 month after AMT or CAG and then decreased at 3 and 6 months after surgery. Finally, an inverse correlation was found between both MUC2 and MUC5AC tear mucins concentration and the TBUT., Conclusions: These results suggest that pterygium excision via both CAG or AMT changes the concentrations of the tear mucins MUC2 and MUC5AC during the evaluated times, and these changes could affect tear film stability and clinical recovery after pterygium treatment., Translational Relevance: The tear film stability during pterygium excision was evaluated to determine adequate treatments.