Eye Diseases Commons^™

Eye On The Prize: Expanding Student Awareness Of Optometry As A Profession, Lorena Flores-Hernandez

MedEd Teaching Certificate Program

The proposed Doctor of Optometry program at UTRGV has the potential to positively enhance the ocular health of our communities. Implementing an outreach program highlighting a career path in optometry will be essential for the future of eyecare in the Rio Grande Valley.

According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the optometric workforce is projected to grow over the next decade. The increased demand for optometrists is related to multiple factors including an aging population with chronic diseases and a nationwide shortage of ophthalmology practitioners.

Nationally, the Optometry Gives Me Life campaign, launched by the Association of …

Ocular Blood Flow And Retinal Vascular Reactivity In Alzheimer’S Disease: A Systematic Review Of Retinal Images, Tori Sayers, Alexa Nichols, Amin Ibrahim, Igor Zwir, Andrew Tsin, Lorena Flores-Hernandez, Gladys E. Maestre, Jesus D. Melgarejo

Research Colloquium

Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and one of the leading causes of disability and death in the United States¹. Research efforts aim to identify pathological changes that may help support earlier detection of AD and lead to more accessible tools for monitoring disease progression². The retina is being explored as a potential non-invasive marker of AD, reflecting the shared embryology and microvasculature features between the retina and the brain. Although research has focused on structural changes in retinal vessel diameters and density, few studies have evaluated functional markers of retinal …

Systemic Vascular Dysregulation And Retinal Microvascular Alterations In Glaucoma, Amin Ibrahim, Tori Sayers, Alexa Nichols, Igor Zwir, Andrew Tsin, Lorena Flores-Hernandez, Gladys E. Maestre, Jesus D. Melgarejo

Research Colloquium

Background: Glaucoma is a multifactorial, progressive optic neuropathy, for which both mechanical and vascular mechanisms of pathogenesis have been proposed. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) enables noninvasive visualization of the choroidal and retinal vasculature and may be used to quantify vascular changes associated with glaucoma. Systemic risk factors, including variations in blood pressure (BP), whether low or elevated, have been associated with the vascular pathogenesis of glaucoma. This systematic review aims to synthesize the current evidence on the relationship between systemic vascular dysregulation and OCTA-derived retinal vascular markers in glaucomatous eyes.

Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a systematic search …

Insulin In Combination With N-Acetylcysteine Protects Hypoxia-Induced Toxicity In 661w Cells, Lili M. Guerra, Laura Valdez, Benxu Cheng, Andrew Tsin

Research Colloquium

Background: Proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) is the leading cause of blindness among working-age adults. Photoreceptors are the most numerous and metabolically demanding cells in the retina thus oxygen is essential for retinal function. It has been reported that photoreceptors found in rat retina are specifically vulnerable to hypoxia. Hypoxia-induced metabolic stress leads to photoreceptor atrophy and retinopathy. Furthermore, photoreceptor cell death is known to occur mainly through apoptosis. However, the protection of hypoxia-induced-cytotoxicity in cone photoreceptor cells has not been investigated extensively. The aim of this study was to determine whether co-treatment of insulin and the N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC) (a free …

Diabetic Retinopathy And The Role Of Vegf, Aishwarya Gatiganti, Laura Valdez, Andrew Tsin Ph.D.

School of Medicine Publications

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of blindness in the working-age population. It works by disrupting the neural and vascular components in the retina and leads to loss of neural interaction/function, vascular permeability, and angiogenesis. It can be classified into two general stages: non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). DR can also lead to vascular leakage and cause diabetic macular edema (DME), the most common cause of vision loss in DR (Duh, Sun et al. 2017). There are currently a wide range of therapies, but they are limited in their efficacy and side effects. None of …

Cellular And Molecular Mechanisms Of Neuronal Degeneration In Early Stage Diabetic Retinopathy, Sonal V. Jha, Laura Valdez, Andrew T C Tsin

School of Medicine Publications

DR is a common complication of diabetes in which every cell type in the retina is affected or damaged, resulting in irreversible vision loss. Although DR was classically considered a vascular disease, evidence now supports DR as a neurovascular disease, in which neuronal damage is present much earlier than vascular pathology or clinically observable abnormalities. The mechanisms by which neurons are damaged in early DR are linked to the effects of reactive oxygen species, apoptotic signaling by capase-dependent, caspase-independent, and Fas/FasL pathways and glial cell reactivity resulting in excitotoxicity, neurotrophin imbalance, and breakdown of neurovascular coupling. Although some features of …

Assessing Disease Severity Of Diabetic Retinopathy Using Novel Graphical Interpretation Of Flicker Electroretinogram, Anjalee Choudhury, Jonas Moses, Victor Gonzalez

MEDI 9331 Scholarly Activities Clinical Years

Purpose: To assess the clinical value of reporting full-field electroretinogram (eg, flicker ERG) findings graphically to determine the severity of diabetic retinopathy (DR) within an office-based setting.

Methods: Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were included and classified into varying degrees of DR based on presence and severity. Flicker ERG responses were recorded and compared between groups.

Results: Between the varying disease stages, significant differences in the mean magnitude and phase values were found. There was also a significant difference between the proportions of the magnitude and phase color-coded frequencies between groups of severity and threat to …

Observing Growth Effects Of Pigment Epithelium-Derived Factor On Human Retinal Pericytes In Vitro, Anjalee Choudhury, Andrew Tsin, Zachary Perez, Fransisco Elisarraras

School of Medicine Publications

The purpose of this study is to investigate and determine the role of PEDF in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy as induced by advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). Human retinal pericytes were isolated from donors and will be measured for cell proliferation under the influence of PEDF both in the presence and absence of AGEs. Expected outcomes involve both the maintenance and increased survival of HRPs after treatment with PEDF under stimulated hyperglycemic conditions.