| Research Abstract |
1. Clinical Study on Pathogenesis Exfoliation Syndrome
There was no definite difference of the anterior chamber pigment dispersions and depigmentation from the iris between Japanese and German patients with exfoliation syndrome. No evident differences were detected in clinical signs between the exfoliarion eyes with and without glaucoma.
2. Pathological Study on Pathogenesis of Exfoliation Syndrome
1) Age-related changes of the basal lamina of the posterior surface of the iris epithelium was studied electron microscopy. According to aging, the basal lamina became thickened and duplicate and/or triplicate layrs. The thickened basal lamina contained microfibril-like fine fibrils, and some of the fibril are associated granular materials, which are morphologically similar to premature form of exfoliation materials.
2) Exfoliation materials were studied by histochemically using cupromeronic blue. The exfoliation materials contained proteoglycans such as chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, heparan sulfate.
3) Exfoliation materials were studied immunohistochemically using HNK-1 epitope. The exfoliation materials deposited in area with aqueous humor showed strong affinity with HNK-1 epitope, but not those in area far from aqueous humor.
3. Molecular-Genetic Study on Pathogenesis of Exfoliation Syndrome
Thirty-four patients seen in Kyushu University Eye Clinic and 317 healthy controls were studied. HLA class I antigens were determined by serological typing using the NIH standard micro-cytotoxicity method with highly selected antisera. DNA typing of HLA class II alleles were performe using the technique with hybridization of polymerase chain reaction-amplified DNA with sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes. The frequency fo DRB1^<**> 0405 and DQAl^<**> 03 showed lower tendency in the patients compared with controls, but no statistical significance. The findings suggest that there may be the genetic predisposition toexfoliation syndrome.
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