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For years, branch retinal vein occlusion is still a controversial disease in many aspects. An increasing amount of data is available regarding classification, pathogenesis, risk factors, natural history, and therapy of branch retinal vein occlusion. Some of the conclusions may even change our impression of branch retinal vein occlusion. It will be beneficial for our doctors to get a deeper understanding of this disease and improve the treatment skills. The aims of this review is to collect the information above and report new ideas especially from the past a few years.

Purpose The aim of this study was to assess the roles of plasma cytokines in diabetic retinopathy (DR) and their relationship with the severity of DR. Methods This study included 59 diabetic patients and 19 non-diabetic controls. The plasma concentrations of endothelial growth factor (EGF), eotaxin, fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2), Flt-3 ligand (Flt-3L), fractalkine, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), growth-related oncogene (GRO), interferon (IFN)-α2, IFN-γ, interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-1β, IL-1Ra, IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-9, IL-10, IL-12 (p40), IL-12 (p70), IL-13, IL-15, IL-17, IFN-inducible protein-10 (IP-10), monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1, MCP-3, macrophage-derived cytokine (MDC), macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1α, MIP-1β, sCD40L, sIL-2Rα, transforming growth factor (TGF)-α, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)- α, TNF-β, and VEGF were measured with Luminex multiplex bead immunoassay. The levels of these cytokines were investigated according to the DR stage. Results The plasma level of ten cytokines—MCP-1, IL-6, IL-7, IL-9, IL-13, IL-15, IL-17, sCD40L, sIL-2Rα and TNF-β—increased significantly in the diabetic group compared to the controls. The Flt-3L, IL-1Ra, IL-3, IL-5, and IL-12 (p40) levels were lower in the diabetic group than in the control group. The TNF-α plasma level was significantly elevated in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) compared with the levels in patients with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) and patients with no apparent diabetic retinopathy (NDR). Conclusions TNF-α might be involved in the progression of DR, especially in the pathogenesis of PDR. TNF-α is a potential cytokine for the prognosis of DR and might act as a therapeutic target in DR.

Purpose To identify the causative mutation with its possible origin in a Chinese family with congenital fibrosis of extraocular muscles type 1 (CFEOM1) and to characterize the ocular phenotypes and lesions in the corresponding intracranial nerves. Methods Three affected siblings and their asymptomatic parents underwent comprehensive ophthalmic examinations and neuropathologic analysis involving magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). KIF21A, PHOX2A, and TUBB3 genes were sequenced on the leukocyte-derived DNA to detect variants. The disease-linked haplotype was analyzed using four microsatellite markers across the KIF21A locus. Results All three affected individuals displayed typical CFEOM1. MRI revealed complicated but consistent neuromuscular abnormalities in the two patients examined, including hypoplastic oculomotor nerves, complete absence of bilateral superior rectus muscles, and unilateral absence of the abducens nerve with marked atrophy of the corresponding lateral rectus muscle. A heterozygous hotspot mutation KIF21A c.2860C>T was identified in all patients, but it was absent in both parents. Haplotype analysis of the disease locus showed the likely maternal inheritance of the disease-associated haplotype to all three affected offspring, strongly suggesting maternal germline mosaicism of the mutation. Conclusions Germline mosaicism of KIF21A c.2860C>T is likely to cause the high occurrence of this mutation in the population. This information may be useful for genetic counseling. KIF21A mutations can affect the abducens nerve and cause complete absence of the bilateral superior rectus muscles. MRI characterization of new CFEOM1 phenotypes would assist clinical management.

Background and Aims Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the worldwide leading cause of blindness among the elderly, especially in developed countries. The possible association between apolipoprotein E (ApoE) polymorphism (e2, e3, e4) and AMD has been extensively investigated with conflicting results, especially when specifying different clinical phenotypes of AMD. Herein, we conducted a meta-analysis by integrating several recent large-sample studies to verify the effect of ApoE polymorphisms on AMD subtypes. Methods The retrieve for targeted literature was conducted based on the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, and Web of Science. Summary odds ratio (OR) and its 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used for estimation of risk. The p -value was adjusted due to the multiple comparison. Results A total of 12 studies included in the final summary analysis, including 13842 cases and 38647 controls. ApoE e4 carrier was inversely associated with early stage AMD (OR = 0.889, 95% CI = 0.82–0.97), geographic atrophy (OR = 0.594, 95% CI = 0.43–0.83) and neovascular AMD (OR = 0.670, 95% CI = 0.58–0.76). Stratification analysis by ethnicity revealed that the ApoE e4 carriers was associated with neovascular AMD in both Caucasians (OR = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.47–0.83) and East Asians (OR = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.58–0.79). A significant association of ApoE e2 carriers was only found with early AMD in Black and East Asian population, however small samples and limited studies restrict its generalization. Conclusion Our meta-analysis revealed a significantly protective role of e4 on each subtypes of AMD, but no supportive evidence of the association of e2 with AMD. Thus, further studies with larger samples are needed to understand the precise role of e2 on AMD susceptibility.

Purpose To evaluate the precise association of complement factor H (CFH) Val62Ile polymorphism with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) susceptibility. Methods We performed a meta-analysis using databases including PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science to find relevant studies. Summary odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using fixed-effect and random-effects models. The inconsistency index (I2) was used to assess heterogeneity. Funnel plots and Egger’s test were used to evaluate publication bias. Sensitivity analysis was also performed. Results Fourteen studies including 4,438 patients with AMD and 6,099 controls based on the search criteria were involved in the meta-analysis. In overall populations, the pooled OR1 for genotype GA+GG versus homozygous genotype AA was 2.28 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.48–3.52), the OR2 of heterozygous genotype GA versus AA was 1.58 (95% CI: 1.13–2.19), the OR3 of homozygous genotype GG versus AA was 2.90 (95% CI: 1.95–4.30), and the OR4 of allele G versus A was 1.77 (95% CI: 1.43–2.21). In Asian populations, our results provided substantial evidence that the Val62Ile variant was significantly associated with AMD (OR4=1.85, 95% CI: 1.63–2.09). However, in Caucasian populations, no significant association of Val62Ile with AMD was established in all circumstances. Conclusions Our analysis provides substantial evidence that the Val62Ile variant is significantly associated with AMD in Asian populations. However, our results have demonstrated no link between the Val62Ile polymorphism and AMD in Caucasian populations.

This paper, we discussed a general multi-objective optimization problem under quasi-normal cone condition.we prove that for almost every point in the feasible region, a smooth and bounded homotopy path can be derived and that the algorithm converges to the K-K-T point of multi-objective programming problem. Numerical simulation confirmed the viability of this method.