Cataract Disease Research Articles

Hydrazide-hydrazones as novel antioxidants - in vitro, molecular docking and DFT studies

The pathogenesis of many diseases, such as obesity, depression, cancer, cataract, and neurodegenerative diseases, is related to the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Structures possessing radical-scavenging properties act as antioxidants and they could prevent the progression of the aforementioned diseases. Therefore, the current work was focused on the resynthesis and the antioxidant evaluation of 13 hydrazide-hydrazones. Two in vitro tests - DPPH and ABTS, were applied for the determination of the antioxidant capacities. The free-radical scavenging assays displayed that the hydrazide-hydrazone synthesized after condensation with a salicylaldehyde (5b) is the most potent antioxidant. The in vitro evaluation through the ABTS test showed that the former structure has greater antioxidant properties compared with the used standard - Trolox (6-Hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetramethylchroman-2-carboxylic acid). In concentrations of 31 µM, the pyrrole-based structure showed 35.77% radical-scavenging effects. A possible binding conformation of the most active hydrazide-hydrazone in the active site of NADPH oxidase was visualised through docking simulations. The active amino acids involved in the stabilisation of the complexes were discussed. DFT studies demonstrated that 5b is a stable structure with good hydrogen and electron donating properties. Overall, the pyrrole-based hydrazide-hydrazone possesses promising antioxidant properties, however further in vitro/in vivo biological evaluations are required.

Cataract and genetic diseases

Cataract and genetic diseases

Improving Automated Detection of Cataract Disease through Transfer Learning using ResNet50

Improving Automated Detection of Cataract Disease through Transfer Learning using ResNet50

Utilization of unimproved energy sources and associated factors among households in Bishoftu town, Ethiopia: implications for climate change and health concerns

IntroductionThe use of unimproved energy sources is associated with a range of health problems. However, in Ethiopia, studies focused on the utilization of unimproved energy sources and associated factors are limited. Therefore, this study aimed to close this gap.MethodsIn this community-based cross-sectional study, 5,350 participants were enrolled. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were employed to examine the associations between the utilization of unimproved energy sources and the predictor variables. Additionally, the chi-square test was used to examine the association between households' unimproved energy source utilization and the occurrence of health problems.ResultsIn this study, 45% of households used unimproved energy sources. In the multivariable analysis, households headed by men (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.76; with 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.66, 0.87), households headed by illiterate heads (AOR = 1.77 with 95% CI 1.47, 2.14), household family size (AOR = 0.79 with 95% CI 0.79, 0.93), households headed with farmers (AOR = 3.33 with 95% CI 2.31, 4.81), households with low income (AOR = 3.41 with 95% CI 2.57, 4.51), rural households (AOR = 7.94 with 95% CI 6.76, 9.32), and households with regular coffee ceremony practices (AOR = 1.17 with 95% CI 1.00, 1.36) were significantly associated with the utilization of unimproved energy sources. Additionally, the results of the chi-square test revealed that households that relied on unimproved energy sources had a 1.5-fold greater risk of developing respiratory illnesses, an 8.5-fold greater risk of developing cataract disease, and a 5.2-fold greater risk of developing trachoma than households that used improved energy sources.ConclusionA significant proportion of households in Bishoftu town still rely on unimproved energy sources for cooking and other household needs. This indicates a substantial challenge in achieving universal access to clean and sustainable energy in the area. Several socioeconomic and demographic factors are associated with the use of unimproved energy sources, including male-headed households, illiteracy of household head, smaller family size, farming occupation, low income, rural residence, and regular coffee ceremony practices. Most importantly, the use of unimproved energy sources is associated with higher risks of respiratory illnesses, cataracts, and trachoma among household members. Therefore, the government should implement targeted interventions to promote the adoption of clean and improved energy sources among vulnerable households such as households headed by farmers, those with illiterate heads, households with low socioeconomic status, households with regular coffee ceremony practices, and those in rural areas. In addition, the local government should develop and implement educational campaigns to raise awareness about the health and environmental risks associated with the use of unimproved energy sources, particularly among households with high-risk factors identified in the study.

An Automated Wavelet Scattering Network Classification Using Three Stages of Cataract Disease

إعتام عدسة العين وهو مرض يصيب العين حيث يسبب تشوهًا بصريًا ويمكن أن تؤدي المرحلة المتأخرة من هذا المرض إلى العمى. ويعتبر مرضًا صامتًا يمكن أن يحدث دون ظهور الأعراض. لذلك ، فإن الطريقة الأكثر فاعلية للكشف عن إعتام عدسة العين هي من خلال الكشف الدقيق في الوقت المناسب لمنع الأذى والعمى والعمليات المكلفة. ان الغرض من هذه البحث هو اقتراح نظام آلي يعتمد على شبكة نثر المويجات التي تصنف المرضى إلى أربع فئات: إعتام عدسة العين المبكر وإعتام عدسة العين المتوسط وإعتام عدسة العين المتأخر وعدم إعتام عدسة العين باستخدام 512 صورة لقاعدة البيانات ODIR (212 شخص مصاب و300 شخص غير مصاب). الخطوة الأولى في هذه التقنية هي خطوة المعالجة المسبقة لصورة الشبكية التي كانت عبارة عن مرشح المتوسط ، والذي تم استخدامه لتقليل ضوضاء الصورة. ثم بعد ذلك استخدام طريقة معادلة الرسم البياني التكيفية محدودة التباين (CLAHE) لتحسين مستوى عينات الصورة. بعد ذلك ، يمكن استخراج الخصائص منخفضة التباين من بيانات الصورة باستخدام شبكة تشتت المويجات لاستخدامها في تطبيقات التعلم العميق. في هذه الشبكة ، يتم استخدام مرشحات تحجيم تمرير منخفض وموجات موجية محددة مسبقًا. كان متوسط دقة الطريقة المقترحة 100٪ لأربع فئات (غير مصاب، مبكر، متوسط، شديد). علما ان النتائج موعودة مقارنة مع أعمال أخرى مماثلة.

DCNN For Cataract Disease Detection Based on Model Parallelism

DCNN For Cataract Disease Detection Based on Model Parallelism

Pattern of Eye Health Care Services in a Tertiary Specialized Eye Hospital in Bangladesh

A retrospective study was conducted in Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Eye Hospital and Training Institute, Gopalganj, Bangladesh, to analyze the trends of eye diseases in Bangladesh and surgical treatments provided by a tertiary eye hospital to manage them. A total of eighty-eight thousand nine hundred fifty-eight subjects attended the hospital for their ophthalmic checkup from the southern part of Bangladesh. Patience was evaluated according to their complaints; patient demographic data and medical history were retrospectively collected. Complete ophthalmic examination was performed. The study included 44,187 males and 44,771 females. Most of the patients were above 50 years while the toddlers were the least. The highest performed minor procedure was sac patency test and incision and curettage for chalazion was the minimum. regarding the major surgeries, cataract surgeries take the lead followed by DCR, DCT and intravitreal retinal injections. Cataract surgery and retinal injections were performed more in males whereas larger number of female patients underwent DCR and DCT. Most of the patients took their service from outpatient department. In a developing country like Bangladesh, mostly occurring ocular conditions like cataract and lacrimal apparatus diseases should be of utmost importance and National resources should be aimed at the management of such diseases. At the same time, care has to be taken to identify pediatric eye conditions at earlier age by raising awareness among parents. CBMJ 2024 July: vol. 13 no. 02 P: 235-242

Statistical Analysis of Cataract Disease: A Case Study of 15,221 Patients at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Okolobiri

Introduction: This research is on the statistical analysis of cataract disease between male and female patients. The objectives were to estimate the distribution of cataract disease over the years with respect to gender and measures the rate of patients with cataract disease (i.e., calculate the annual patients with cataract per 1000 patients) during the same year and test for significant difference between the rate of cataract patients in term of male and female that visited to the hospital.Material and Methods: A retrospective study design was adopted and a total number of 15,221 patients records from Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital eye clinic were collected. Out of which 7,362(48%) were male and 7859(52%) were female. The methods adopted for data analysis were Trend analysis, Vital statistics, Paired Samples t-Test, Chi-Square, Probability tree diagram and Conditional probability.Results: Results showed that male patients’ rate with cataract diseases was slightly higher than female per thousand visitations. Testing for significant difference between the rate of male and female cataract patients using paired t-test, showed no significant difference between them at 5% level. However, there was a moderate correlation between them with r= (0.552), p= 0.199. The result for test for association showed that there is no evidence of an association between gender and disease status. Results showed that probability of a male having the disease was slightly higher than female.Conclusion: This research is on the statistical analysis of cataract disease, its occurrence and determinants between male and female patients.

Linear Regression Based Machine Learning Model for Cataract Disease Prediction

Blindness and visual impairment have become major health problems today, with one major source of impairment being the formation of cataract disease. Cataract disease affects around 20 million individuals worldwide, with three out of every four being above the age of 60. A cataract is a clouding of the lens that impairs vision and can lead to blindness. Accurate and convenient detection of cataracts is essential for improving this condition. This paper presents a model based on linear regression to predict the presence of cataracts from images of the human eye. Experiments were conducted to validate the model. Various image processing techniques have also been used to perform image preprocessing and contrast enhancement, with patients notified about their eye health via SMS.

The global burden of cataracts and its attributable risk factors in 204 countries and territories: a systematic analysis of the global burden of disease study.

The global distribution and trends in the attributable burden of cataract risk have rarely been systematically explored. To guide the development of targeted and accurate cataract screening and treatment strategies, we analyzed the burden of cataract disease attributable to known risk factors. This study utilized detailed cataract data from the Global Burden of Disease e 2019, and we analyzed disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) e each risk factor from 1990 to 2019. Additionally, we calculated estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs) during the study period. The results revealed that from 1990-2019, the global age-standardized DALYs of e attributable to particulate matter pollution, smoking, high fasting glucose plasma and high BMI showed steady downward trends (1990-2009: EAPC = -0.21 [-0.57 -0.14]); 2000-2009: EAPC = -0.95 [-1.01 -0.89]; 2010-2019: EAPC = -1.41 [-1.8 -1.02]). The age-standardized DALYs and mortality caused by each risk factor were highest in the low-middle sociodemographic index (SDI) region (EAPC = -1.77[(-2.19--1.34)]). The overall disease burden of cataracts is lower in males than in females. When analyzing the EAPCs of cataract disease burden for each risk factor individually, we found that the age-standardized disability-adjusted life years caused by particulate matter pollution and smoking decreased (PMP1990-2009: EAPC = -0.53 [-0.9--0.16]; 2000-2009: EAPC = -1.39 [-1.45--1.32]; 2010-2019: EAPC = -2.27 [-2.75--1.79]; smoking 2000 to 2009: EAPC = -1.51 [-1.6--1.43], 2009 to 2019: EAPC = -1.34 [-1.68--1])), while high fasting plasma glucose and high body mass index increased annually (HFPG1990 to 1999: EAPC = 1.27 [0.89-1.65], 2000 to 2009: EAPC = 1.02 [0.82-1.22], 2010-2019: EAPC = 0.44 [0.19-0.68]; HBMI 1990 to 1999: EAPC = 1.65 [1.37-1.94], 2000 to 2009: EAPC = 1.56 [1.43-1.68], 2010-2019: EAPC = 1.47 [1.18-1.77]). The burden of cataracts caused by ambient particulate matter and smoking is increasing in low, low-middle SDI areas, and specific and effective measures are urgently needed. The results of this study suggest that reducing particulate matter pollution, quitting smoking, controlling blood glucose, and lowering BMI could play important roles in reducing the occurrence of cataracts, especially in older people.

Cataract Disease Detection Using Pre-trained Models

Cataract Disease Detection Using Pre-trained Models

The Functional Significance of High Cysteine Content in Eye Lens γ-Crystallins.

Cataract disease is strongly associated with progressively accumulating oxidative damage to the extremely long-lived crystallin proteins of the lens. Cysteine oxidation affects crystallin folding, interactions, and light-scattering aggregation especially strongly due to the formation of disulfide bridges. Minimizing crystallin aggregation is crucial for lifelong lens transparency, so one might expect the ubiquitous lens crystallin superfamilies (α and βγ) to contain little cysteine. Yet, the Cys content of γ-crystallins is well above the average for human proteins. We review literature relevant to this longstanding puzzle and take advantage of expanding genomic databases and improved machine learning tools for protein structure prediction to investigate it further. We observe remarkably low Cys conservation in the βγ-crystallin superfamily; however, in γ-crystallin, the spatial positioning of Cys residues is clearly fine-tuned by evolution. We propose that the requirements of long-term lens transparency and high lens optical power impose competing evolutionary pressures on lens βγ-crystallins, leading to distinct adaptations: high Cys content in γ-crystallins but low in βB-crystallins. Aquatic species need more powerful lenses than terrestrial ones, which explains the high methionine content of many fish γ- (and even β-) crystallins. Finally, we discuss synergies between sulfur-containing and aromatic residues in crystallins and suggest future experimental directions.

Cataract Surgery and Chronic Kidney Disease: A Hospital-based Prospective Cohort Study.

Objective Cataract and chronic kidney disease (CKD) occur with increasing frequency with age and share common risk factors including smoking, diabetes, and hypertension. We evaluated the risk of incident cataract surgery in patients with non-dialysis-dependent CKD and dialysis-dependent CKD compared to non-CKD patients, while taking into account the competing risk of death. Methods The participants included 1,839 patients from Sado General Hospital enrolled in the Project in Sado for Total Health (PROST) between June 2008 and December 2016 (54% men; mean age, 69 years). Among these patients, 50%, 44%, and 6% had non-CKD, non-dialysis-dependent CKD, and dialysis-dependent CKD, respectively. Results During a median follow-up of 5.6 years (interquartile range, 4.7-7.1), 193 participants underwent cataract surgery [18.7 (95% confidence interval (CI), 16.2-21.5)/1,000 person-years] and 425 participants died without undergoing cataract surgery [41.0 (95% CI, 37.4-45.2)/1,000 person-years]. The cumulative incidence of cataract surgery was the highest in the dialysis-dependent CKD group, followed by the non-dialysis-dependent CKD and non-CKD groups (log-rank p=0.002). After adjusting for potential confounding factors, the dialysis-dependent CKD group [hazard ratio (HR) 2.48; 95% CI 1.43-4.31], but not the non-dialysis-dependent CKD group (HR, 1.01; 95% CI 0.74-1.38), had a higher risk of cataract surgery than the non-CKD group. However, this association was no longer significant according to a competing risk analysis (sub-hazard ratio, 1.67; 95% CI 0.93-3.03). Conclusion Dialysis-dependent CKD patients were found to have an increased risk of cataract surgery; however, the association was attenuated and no longer significant when death was considered a competing risk.

Diversity in enrollment to clinical trials for cataract medicine and surgery: meta-analysis.

To investigate sex, racial, and ethnic disparities in patient enrollment across cataract trials registered in the United States. Participants enrolled in high-quality (reduced risk of bias), U.S.-registered (on ClinicalTrials.gov ), cataract-related randomized controlled trials (RCTs). RCTs must be completed, have used double or greater masking, and have published results through the registry or a scholarly journal. Cross-sectional database study. Trial (study sponsor country, study site location, trial initiation year, study phase, and study masking) and demographic data (sex, race, and ethnicity according to U.S. reporting guidelines) were collected. The Global Burden of Disease database provided sex-based cataract disease burdens. Pooled participation-to-prevalence ratios (PPRs) with 95% CIs were calculated for female sex, with values between 0.8 and 1.2 constituting sufficient study enrollment. Kruskal-Wallis tests (α = 0.05) with subsequent post hoc comparisons were used to evaluate demographic representations stratified by trial characteristics. From 864 records, 100 clinical trials (N = 67 874) were identified, of which 97 (N = 67 697) reported sex demographics with a pooled female PPR of 0.89 (95% CI, 0.85-0.94). Of the 67 697 total participants, the absolute female enrollment was 19 062 (28.16%). Ethnicity and race were reported in 9 (N = 1792) and 26 trials (N = 23 181), respectively. Among trials that reported race, most were White (N = 19 574; 84.44%). High-quality, U.S.-registered, cataract trials enrolled acceptable proportions of women. However, the absolute number of female and racialized participants was low. Race and ethnicity were underreported. Disparity trends predominately held across secondary variables. To promote generalizability, future trials should pursue equitable demographic enrollment.

Association of Diabetes Mellitus II and Hypertension with Types of Cataract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the association of diabetes mellitus and hypertension with types of cataract. Methodology: After ethical approval, this cross-sectional study involved 61 patients, age between 40 to 85 years who were advised cataract surgery with phacoemulsification at Department of Ophthalmology, Fatima Memorial Hospital. Proper informed consent was obtained from participants. Those who did not give consent were excluded. The type of cataract and the presence of two systemic diseases—hypertension and diabetes mellitus II—that have been identified as risk factors for the development of cataract were investigated in the patients. Data was entered and analysed in SPSS. Results: Out of 61 patients, who were involved in this study, there were 26 (42.6%) males and 35 (57.4%) females. In this study the most presented systemic disease was combination of both hypertension and diabetes mellitus II and most occurring type was nuclear cataract. DM II had very low incidences in all groups. There was insignificant difference and association (p=0.784) between cataract (All types) and system diseases (Hypertension and Diabetes Mellitus) in the age group 40-85 years. Conclusion: There was no association of types of cataract with hypertension and diabetes mellitus type II. Key words: Cataract, Diabetes Mellitus, Hypertension

Machine Learning Methods Using Artificial Intelligence Deployed on Electronic Health Record Data for Identification and Referral of At-Risk Patients From Primary Care Physicians to Eye Care Specialists: Retrospective, Case-Controlled Study.

Identification and referral of at-risk patients from primary care practitioners (PCPs) to eye care professionals remain a challenge. Approximately 1.9 million Americans suffer from vision loss as a result of undiagnosed or untreated ophthalmic conditions. In ophthalmology, artificial intelligence (AI) is used to predict glaucoma progression, recognize diabetic retinopathy (DR), and classify ocular tumors; however, AI has not yet been used to triage primary care patients for ophthalmology referral. This study aimed to build and compare machine learning (ML) methods, applicable to electronic health records (EHRs) of PCPs, capable of triaging patients for referral to eye care specialists. Accessing the Optum deidentified EHR data set, 743,039 patients with 5 leading vision conditions (age-related macular degeneration [AMD], visually significant cataract, DR, glaucoma, or ocular surface disease [OSD]) were exact-matched on age and gender to 743,039 controls without eye conditions. Between 142 and 182 non-ophthalmic parameters per patient were input into 5 ML methods: generalized linear model, L1-regularized logistic regression, random forest, Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), and J48 decision tree. Model performance was compared for each pathology to select the most predictive algorithm. The area under the curve (AUC) was assessed for all algorithms for each outcome. XGBoost demonstrated the best performance, showing, respectively, a prediction accuracy and an AUC of 78.6% (95% CI 78.3%-78.9%) and 0.878 for visually significant cataract, 77.4% (95% CI 76.7%-78.1%) and 0.858 for exudative AMD, 79.2% (95% CI 78.8%-79.6%) and 0.879 for nonexudative AMD, 72.2% (95% CI 69.9%-74.5%) and 0.803 for OSD requiring medication, 70.8% (95% CI 70.5%-71.1%) and 0.785 for glaucoma, 85.0% (95% CI 84.2%-85.8%) and 0.924 for type 1 nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), 82.2% (95% CI 80.4%-84.0%) and 0.911 for type 1 proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), 81.3% (95% CI 81.0%-81.6%) and 0.891 for type 2 NPDR, and 82.1% (95% CI 81.3%-82.9%) and 0.900 for type 2 PDR. The 5 ML methods deployed were able to successfully identify patients with elevated odds ratios (ORs), thus capable of patient triage, for ocular pathology ranging from 2.4 (95% CI 2.4-2.5) for glaucoma to 5.7 (95% CI 5.0-6.4) for type 1 NPDR, with an average OR of 3.9. The application of these models could enable PCPs to better identify and triage patients at risk for treatable ophthalmic pathology. Early identification of patients with unrecognized sight-threatening conditions may lead to earlier treatment and a reduced economic burden. More importantly, such triage may improve patients' lives.

Comparative profiling of the skin and gut microbiota during metamorphosis in Chinese spiny frogs (Quasipaa spinosa) highlights microbial communities involved in disease pathogenesis

The symbiotic microbiota inhabiting the skin and gut of amphibians exerts roles in maintaining host health, especially during the critical stage of complete metamorphosis where failure to remodel the microbiota can result in various diseases. However, the composition and alterations in the amphibian microbiota in diverse diseased populations, as well as the exact mechanisms underlying disruptions in skin and gut microbial communities leading to diseases, are not yet well established. Herein, skin and gut microbiota were sampled from healthy Chinese spiny frogs (CTL group) as well as individuals with ascites disease (AD group), cataract disease (CD group), and rotten-skin disease (RD group) for Illumina high-throughput sequencing analysis to comprehensively explore potential associations between microbiota composition and the health status of the host. Venn diagrams and UpSet analysis revealed that the CTL group exhibited the highest number of unique amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) in their skin, while the CD group displayed the lowest abundance of ASVs in their gut. Compared to the CTL group, the alpha-diversity of skin microbiota was dramatically depressed in diseased groups, and notable variations in the beta-diversity of both skin and gut microbiota were observed. Further compositional analysis identified Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidota as the dominant bacterial phyla in both skin and gut microbiota, although their relative abundances varied widely among groups. The linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) analysis identified various bacteria species with substantial differences between skin and gut microbiota groups including beneficial populations as well as opportunistic ones. Functional predictions indicated significant differences between CTL and diseased groups mainly enriched in metabolism-relevant pathways. Furthermore, in vitro culture experiments confirmed the presence of a total of 19 strains of bacteria from the skin microbiota of RD group, including opportunistic bacteria population Acinetobacter closely associated with spiny frog rotten-skin disease. Taken together, this work provides insights into the composition dynamics of skin and gut microbiota under different health conditions in spiny frogs, highlighting potential applications for symbiotic microbiota modification in promoting healthy amphibian culture practices as well as preventing diseases.

Cataract surgery with new monofocal intraocular lens enhanced for intermediate vision and standard monofocal intraocular lens for retinal disorder.

To investigate the difference in the initial surgical results between a new monofocal intraocular lens (IOL) with enhanced intermediate vision and the standard monofocal IOL in patients with retinal disease. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with retinal disease who underwent cataract surgery due to accompanying cataracts. Types of retinal diseases were investigated and best-corrected distant visual acuity, distant uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), intermediate UCVA, near UCVA, and spherical equivalent were recorded at each visit. The surgical results were investigated at 1day, 1week, and 1month after surgery. Seventeen eyes treated with a new monofocal IOL enhanced for intermediate vision (ICB00 group) and 18 eyes treated with the standard monofocal IOL (AAB00 group) were included in this study. There were no significant differences in the baseline characteristics, including the type of underlying retinal disease, between the groups. There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of distant, intermediate, or near UCVA at day 1 and week 1 after surgery. However, at 1month after surgery, the ICB00 group showed a significantly better intermediate vision improvement than the AAB00 group (p = 0.001). Even in patients with cataract accompanied by retinal disease, the use of the ICB00 IOL showed significant improvement in intermediate vision compared to the use of the AAB00 (standard monofocal) IOL. The ICB00 IOL might be a good option for patients with cataract and retinal disease in the era of increased intermediate vision needs in daily life.

Childhood vision impairment and blindness in West Africa: public health measures and implications for systemic health.

Childhood blindness is an issue of global health impact, affecting approximately 2 million children worldwide. Vision 2020 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals previously identified childhood blindness as a key issue in the twentieth century, and while public health measures are underway, the precise etiologies and management require ongoing investigation and care, particularly within resource-limited settings such as sub-Saharan Africa. We systematically reviewed the literature on childhood blindness in West Africa to identify the anatomic classification and etiologies, particularly those causes of childhood blindness with systemic health implications. Treatable causes included cataract, refractive error, and corneal disease. Systemic etiologies identified included measles, rubella, vitamin A deficiency, and Ebola virus disease. While prior public health measures including vitamin A supplementation and vaccination programs have been deployed in most countries with reported data, multiple studies reported preventable or reversible etiologies of blindness and vision impairment. Ongoing research is necessary to standardize reporting for anatomies and/or etiologies of childhood blindness to determine the necessity of further development and implementation of public health measures that would ameliorate childhood blindness and vision impairment.

High incidence of sebaceous gland inflammation in aldose reductase-deficient mice

Aldose reductase is a member of the 1B1 subfamily of aldo-keto reductase gene superfamily. The action of aldose reductase (AR) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of a variety of disease states, most notably complications of diabetes mellitus including neuropathy, retinopathy, nephropathy, and cataracts. To explore for mechanistic roles for AR in disease pathogenesis, we established mutant strains produced using Crispr-Cas9 to inactivate the AKR1B3 gene in C57BL6 mice. Phenotyping AR-knock out (ARKO) strains confirmed previous reports of reduced accumulation of tissue sorbitol levels. Lens epithelial cells in ARKO mice showed markedly reduced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition following lens extraction in a surgical model of cataract and posterior capsule opacification. A previously unreported phenotype of preputial sebaceous gland swelling was observed frequently in male ARKO mice homozygous for the mutant AKR1B3 allele. This condition, which was shown to be accompanied by infiltration of proinflammatory CD3+ lymphocytes, was not observed in WT mice or mice heterozygous for the mutant allele. Despite this condition, reproductive fitness of the ARKO strain was indistinguishable from WT mice housed under identical conditions. These studies establish the utility of a new strain of AKR1B3-null mice created to support mechanistic studies of cataract and diabetic eye disease.