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© 2013 de Hoz et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited., In the mouse model of unilateral laser-induced ocular hypertension (OHT) the microglia in both the treated and the normotensive untreated contralateral eye have morphological signs of activation and up-regulation of MHC-II expression in comparison with naive. In the brain, rod-like microglia align to less-injured neurons in an effort to limit damage. We investigate whether: i) microglial activation is secondary to laser injury or to a higher IOP and; ii) the presence of rod-like microglia is related to OHT. Three groups of mice were used: age-matched control (naive, n=15); and two lasered: limbal (OHT, n=15); and non-draining portion of the sclera (scleral, n=3). In the lasered animals, treated eyes as well as contralateral eyes were analysed. Retinal whole-mounts were immunostained with antibodies against, Iba-1, NF-200, MHC-II, CD86, CD68 and Ym1. In the scleral group (normal ocular pressure) no microglial signs of activation were found. Similarly to naive eyes, OHT-eyes and their contralateral eyes had ramified microglia in the nerve-fibre layer related to the blood vessel. However, only eyes with OHT had rod-like microglia that aligned end-to-end, coupling to form trains of multiple cells running parallel to axons in the retinal surface. Rod-like microglia were CD68+ and were related to retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) showing signs of degeneration (NF-200+ RGCs). Although MHC-II expression was up-regulated in the microglia of the NFL both in OHT-eyes and their contralateral eyes, no expression of CD86 and Ym1 was detected in ramified or in rod-like microglia. After 15 days of unilateral lasering of the limbal and the non-draining portion of the sclera, activated microglia was restricted to OHT-eyes and their contralateral eyes. However, rod-like microglia were restricted to eyes with OHT and degenerated NF-200+ RGCs and were absent from their contralateral eyes. Thus, rod-like microglia seem be related to the neurodegeneration associated with HTO., ISCIII, Ministerio Español de Ciencia e Innovación, Ministerio Español de Economía e Innovación, Gobierno Regional de Murcia, Fundación Séneca, Unidad Docente de Inmunología, Oftalmología y ORL, Fac. de Óptica y Optometría, TRUE, pub

Copyright: © 2015 de Gracia et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited, Proliferation of microglial cells has been considered a sign of glial activation and a hallmark of ongoing neurodegenerative diseases. Microglia activation is analyzed in animal models of different eye diseases. Numerous retinal samples are required for each of these studies to obtain relevant data of statistical significance. Because manual quantification of microglial cells is time consuming, the aim of this study was develop an algorithm for automatic identification of retinal microglia. Two groups of adult male Swiss mice were used: age-matched controls (naïve, n = 6) and mice subjected to unilateral laser-induced ocular hypertension (lasered; n = 9). In the latter group, both hypertensive eyes and contralateral untreated retinas were analyzed. Retinal whole mounts were immunostained with anti Iba-1 for detecting microglial cell populations. A new algorithm was developed in MATLAB for microglial quantification; it enabled the quantification of microglial cells in the inner and outer plexiform layers and evaluates the area of the retina occupied by Iba-1+ microglia in the nerve fiber-ganglion cell layer. The automatic method was applied to a set of 6,000 images. To validate the algorithm, mouse retinas were evaluated both manually and computationally; the program correctly assessed the number of cells (Pearson correlation R = 0.94 and R = 0.98 for the inner and outer plexiform layers respectively). Statistically significant differences in glial cell number were found between naïve, lasered eyes and contralateral eyes (P<0.05, naïve versus contralateral eyes; P<0.001, naïve versus lasered eyes and contralateral versus lasered eyes). The algorithm developed is a reliable and fast tool that can evaluate the number of microglial cells in naïve mouse retinas and in retinas exhibiting proliferation. The implementation of this new automatic method can enable faster quantification of microglial cells in retinal pathologies., Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Science Foundation Arizona, FEDER, Unidad Docente de Inmunología, Oftalmología y ORL, Fac. de Óptica y Optometría, TRUE, pub

Copyright © 2015 Elena Salobrar-Garcia et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited., Purpose. To analyze in mild Alzheimer's disease (MAD) patients, GDS-4 (Reisberg Scale), whether or not some psychophysical tests (PTs) support OCT macular findings in the same group of MAD patients reported previously. Methods. Twenty-three MAD patients and 28 age-matched control subjects with mean Mini Mental State Examination of 23.3 and 28.2, respectively, with no ocular disease or systemic disorders affecting vision were included. Best-corrected visual acuity (VA), contrast sensitivity (CS) (3, 6, 12, and 18 cpds), color perception (CP), and perception digital test (PDT) were tested in one eye of each patient. Results. In comparison with the controls, MAD patients presented (i) a significant decrease in VA, PDT, and CS for all spatial frequencies analyzed, especially the higher ones, and (ii) a significant increase in unspecific errors on the blue axis (P < 0.05 in all instances). In MAD patients, a wide a ROC curve was plotted in all PTs. Conclusions. In MAD, CS, VA, and the tritan axis in CP were impaired. The PTs with the greatest predictive value are the higher spatial frequencies in CS and tritan unspecific errors in CP. PT abnormalities are consistent with the structural findings reported in the same MAD patients using OCT., Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN), Ministerio de España de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, RETICs prevención, detección precoz y tratamiento de la patología ocular prevalente degenerativa y crónica (OFTARED) (Ministerio de España de Ciencia e Innovación), Unidad Docente de Inmunología, Oftalmología y ORL, Fac. de Óptica y Optometría, TRUE, pub

© 2013 Salazar et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited., Tumour-suppressor genes, such as the p53 gene, produce proteins that inhibit cell division under adverse conditions, as in the case of DNA damage, radiation, hypoxia, or oxidative stress (OS). The p53 gene can arrest proliferation and trigger death by apoptosis subsequent to several factors. In astrocytes, p53 promotes cell-cycle arrest and is involved in oxidative stress-mediated astrocyte cell death. Increasingly, astrocytic p53 is proving fundamental in orchestrating neurodegenerative disease pathogenesis. In terms of ocular disease, p53 may play a role in hypoxia due to ischaemia and may be involved in the retinal response to oxidative stress (OS). We studied the influence of the p53 gene in the structural and quantitative characteristics of astrocytes in the retina. Adult mice of the C57BL/6 strain (12 months old) were distributed into two groups: 1) mice with two extra copies of p53 (“super p53”; n = 6) and 2) wild-type p53 age-matched control, as the control group (WT; n = 6). Retinas from each group were immunohistochemically processed to locate the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). GFAP+ astrocytes were manually counted and the mean area occupied for one astrocyte was quantified. Retinal-astrocyte distribution followed established patterns; however, morphological changes were seen through the retinas in relation to p53 availability. The mean GFAP+ area occupied by one astrocyte in “super p53” eyes was significantly higher (p<0.05; Student’s t-test) than in the WT. In addition, astroglial density was significantly higher in the “super p53” retinas than in the WT ones, both in the whole-retina (p<0,01 Student’s t-test) and in the intermediate and peripheral concentric areas of the retina (p<0.05 Student’s t-test). This fact might improve the resistance of the retinal cells against OS and its downstream signalling pathways., RETICs Patologia Ocular del Envejecimiento, Calidad Visual y Calidad de Vida (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation), RETICs Prevencion, deteccion precoz y tratamiento de la patologia ocular prevalente degenerative y cronica (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation), BSCH-UCM, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Unidad Docente de Inmunología, Oftalmología y ORL, Fac. de Óptica y Optometría, TRUE, pub

Received 27 January 2016; Accepted 14 April 2016 Copyright © 2016 Rosa de Hoz et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, Due to their permanent and close proximity to neurons, glial cells perform essential tasks for the normal physiology of the retina. Astrocytes andM¨uller cells (retinal macroglia) provide physical support to neurons and supplement them with several metabolites and growth factors.Macroglia are involved in maintaining the homeostasis of extracellular ions and neurotransmitters, are essential for information processing in neural circuits, participate in retinal glucose metabolism and in removing metabolic waste products, regulate local blood flow, induce the blood-retinal barrier (BRB), play fundamental roles in local immune response, and protect neurons from oxidative damage. In response to polyetiological insults, glia cells react with a process called reactive gliosis, seeking to maintain retinal homeostasis. When malfunctioning, macroglial cells can become primary pathogenic elements. A reactive gliosis has been described in different retinal pathologies, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetes, glaucoma, retinal detachment, or retinitis pigmentosa. A better understanding of the dual, neuroprotective, or cytotoxic effect of macroglial involvement in retinal pathologies would help in treating the physiopathology of these diseases.The extensive participation of the macroglia in retinal diseases points to these cells as innovative targets for new drug therapies., Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (España), OFTARED, European Programme FEDER, Unidad Docente de Inmunología, Oftalmología y ORL, Fac. de Óptica y Optometría, TRUE, pub

Received 4 May 2006; accepted in revised form 22 July 2006 Available online 26 September 2006, This study evaluates hypercholesterolemic rabbits, examining the retinal changes in Müller cells and astrocytes as well as their variations after a period of normal blood-cholesterol values induced by a standard diet. New Zealand rabbits were divided into three groups: G0, fed a standard diet; G1A, fed a 0.5% cholesterol-enriched diet for 8 months; and G1B, fed as G1A followed by standard diet for 6 months. Eyes were processed for transmission electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry (GFAP). While G1B resembled G0 more than did G1A, they shared alterations with G1A: a) as in G1A, Müller cells were GFAP+, filled spaces left by axonal degeneration, formed glial scars and their nuclei were displaced to the nerve-fibre layer. The area occupied by the astrocytes associated with the nerve-fibre bundles (AANFB) and by perivascular astrocytes (PVA) in G1A and G1B was significantly lower than in controls. However, no significant differences in PVA were found between G1A and G1B. In G1B, type I PVA was absent and replaced by hypertrophic type II cells; b) Bruch's membrane (BM) was thinner in G1B than in G1A; c) the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cytoplasm contained fewer lipids in G1B than in G1A; d) in G1A and G1B choriocapillaris and retinal vessel showed alterations with respect to G0; e) cell death and axonal degeneration in the retina were similar in G1A and G1B. The substitution of a hyperlipemic diet by a standard one normalizes blood-lipid levels. However, the persistence of damage at retinal vessels and BM-RPE could trigger chronic ischemia., Comunidad de Madrid, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Instituto Salud Carlos III, Unidad Docente de Inmunología, Oftalmología y ORL, Fac. de Óptica y Optometría, TRUE, pub

Entrenar la compasión beneficia (según PID2019-20). Objetivos: 1) seguir usando esta herramienta para humanizar los cuidados sanitarios y disminuir el malestar emocional asociado con el estudio y la práctica de la medicina y; 2) evaluar su eficacia.

El crecimiento económico globalizado asociado a la ampliación de desigualdades y exclusión social, hacen que los determinantes sociales en salud deban enfrentarse de una forma distinta por cada uno de los gobiernos y de sus sistemas sanitarios (Thielmann et al. 2005). En Chile, el modelo de Salud Familiar tiene por objetivo otorgar y mantener la salud de los individuos y comunidades a través de la prevención, la promoción y el control sanitario, bajo las directrices ministeriales de salud (Raña et al. 2007). En la actualidad, la Diabetes Mellitus (DM) es uno de los problemas de salud más graves de la sociedad, y en Chile en los últimos 30 años se ha observado un aumento de su prevalencia, lo que significa un alto coste económico para el país. Adicionalmente, la DM produce complicaciones sístemicas en diferentes órganos, lo que empeora la calidad de vida de las personas; una de ellas es la Retinopatía Diabética (RD) y es sabido que las enfermedades visuales, conllevan desventajas económicas a los individuos, sus familias y a las sociedades. En Chile, la baja cantidad de Médicos especialistas y las extensas distancias, determinan que la detección precoz de RD sea deficiente, aumentando la probabilidad de complicaciones retinianas y de pérdida visual..., The globalized economic growth associated with the widening of inequalities and social exclusion establishes that the social determinants of health must be faced in different ways by each government and their health systems (Thielmann et al., 2005). In Chile, the Family and Community Health Model aims to provide and maintain the health of individuals and communities through prevention, promotion and health control, under the Ministry of Health guidelines (Raña et al., 2007). Currently, Diabetes Mellitus (DM) has become one of the most serious health problems in our society; in Chile for the past 30 years, a sustained increase in its prevalence has been observed, which means a high cost for the country. Additionally, DM produces systemic complications in different organs, which worsens quality of life; one of such complications is Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) and it is known that ocular diseases carry profound economic disadvantages to individuals, their families and societies. In Chile, the low number of physician specialists and the great distances determines that early detection of DR is inadequate, increasing probabilities of retinal complications and visual loss...

El crecimiento económico globalizado asociado a la ampliación de desigualdades y exclusión social, hacen que los determinantes sociales en salud deban enfrentarse de una forma distinta por cada uno de los gobiernos y de sus sistemas sanitarios (Thielmann et al. 2005). En Chile, el modelo de Salud Familiar tiene por objetivo otorgar y mantener la salud de los individuos y comunidades a través de la prevención, la promoción y el control sanitario, bajo las directrices ministeriales de salud (Raña et al. 2007). En la actualidad, la Diabetes Mellitus (DM) es uno de los problemas de salud más graves de la sociedad, y en Chile en los últimos 30 años se ha observado un aumento de su prevalencia, lo que significa un alto coste económico para el país. Adicionalmente, la DM produce complicaciones sístemicas en diferentes órganos, lo que empeora la calidad de vida de las personas; una de ellas es la Retinopatía Diabética (RD) y es sabido que las enfermedades visuales, conllevan desventajas económicas a los individuos, sus familias y a las sociedades. En Chile, la baja cantidad de Médicos especialistas y las extensas distancias, determinan que la detección precoz de RD sea deficiente, aumentando la probabilidad de complicaciones retinianas y de pérdida visual...

Most studies employing experimental models of unilateral glaucoma have used the normotensive contralateral eye as the normal control. However, some studies have recently reported the activation of the retinal macroglia and microglia in the uninjured eye, suggesting that the eye contralateral to experimental glaucoma should not be used as a control. This review analyzes the studies describing the contralateral findings and discusses some of the routes through which the signals can reach the contralateral eye to initiate the glial reactivation.