Differing roles of inflammatory factors

A new study indicates that treatments that regulate inflammatory factors might be more beneficial in eyes with major branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) than in eyes with macular BRVO. The study involved 40 patients with macular oedema due to major branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) or macular BRVO who were treated by pars plana vitrectomy. Measurement of their vitreous fluid levels of inflammatory factors showed that eyes with major BRVO had higher concentrations of the inflammatory factors VEGF and sICAM-1, compared with eyes with macular BRVO, but eyes with macular BRVO had higher levels of the anti-inflammatory factor PEDF, compared to eyes with major BRVO.

(Noma et al, Ophthalmologica 2012; DOI:10.1159/000335047).