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Ghrelin concentration in the aqueous humour and plasma in open angle glaucoma patients
Author(s) -
KATSANOS A,
DASTIRIDOU A,
GEORGOULIAS P,
CHOLEVAS P,
KOTOULA MG,
TSIRONI E
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2010.2127.x
Subject(s) - ghrelin , medicine , glaucoma , open angle glaucoma , pseudoexfoliation , aqueous humour , cataract surgery , mann–whitney u test , radioimmunoassay , paracentesis , ophthalmology , aqueous humor , endocrinology , hormone , ascites
Purpose Ghrelin is a peptide hormone that exerts metabolic and smooth muscle‐relaxant effects in ocular tissues. The aim of this study was to compare aqueous humor and plasma levels of ghrelin in patients with open angle glaucoma (OAG) and controls. Methods Twenty four OAG, including 7 pseudoexfoliation (PXG) and 17 primary open‐angle glaucoma (POAG) patients, and 30 controls were included. All participants were patients scheduled for cataract or glaucoma surgery. Patients with other concomitant ocular disease, previous ocular surgery or diabetes were excluded. Blood samples were collected before cataract surgery. Aqueous humor was aspirated from the anterior chamber through a paracentesis with a 27 G needle under sterile conditions. Ghrelin levels in both samples were measured quantitatively with commercially available Radioimmunoassay (RIA) kits. Results Mean±SD age was 71.0±9.3 and 69.6±6.6 years in the OAG and control groups, respectively (p=0.6). Plasma levels of ghrelin were 495.6±157.7 pg/ml in the OAG and 482.2±125.4 pg/ml in the control group, respectively (Mann‐Whitney test, p=0.9). Aqueous humor levels of ghrelin were 85.5±15.4 pg/ml and 123.4 ±25.5 pg/ml in the OAG and control groups, respectively (Mann‐Whitney test, p<0.01). The ratio of plasma/aqueous concentration in ghrelin was higher in the OAG versus the control group (5.82± 1.94 versus 4.00±1.04, Mann‐Whitney test, p<0.01). There was no difference neither in plasma nor in aqueous humor levels of ghrelin between POAG and PXG patients (p>0.5). Conclusion Aqueous humor levels of ghrelin were significantly lower in OAG patients. This difference may manifest a role of ghrelin in the disease process or a consequence of antiglaucoma treatment.