Ciliary neurotrophic factor in patients with age-related cataract

Abstract

We studied the content of ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) in the lacrimal fluid, the aqueous humor, and the blood serum in 40 patients (40 eyes) with age-related cataracts. Collection of stimulated lacrimal fluid was performed by a pipette on the day preceding surgery; the aqueous humor and the blood were sampled during the phacoemulsification of a cataract. CNTF was measured using an enzyme immunoassay. On average, the concentration of CNTF in patients was 43.0 ± 21.2 pg/mL in the lacrimal fluid, 58.7 ± 26.4 pg/mL in the aqueous humor, and 4.4 ± 2.6 pg/mL in the blood serum. The concentration of CNTF in the aqueous humor correlated well with its content in the lacrimal fluid (Pearson’s correlation coefficient was 0.66, P < 0.000) and exceeded it on average by a factor of 1.4 ± 0.5. The data we obtained may be used for an approximate evaluation of the CNTF concentration in the aqueous humor on the basis of an analysis of the lacrimal fluid.