Early changes in iris blood vessels in exfoliation syndrome.
OBJECTIVE
To look for possible changes in iris blood vessels that might precede the formation of true exfoliation material, and to correlate these changes, if present, to aging of the iris.


METHODS
Iris blood vessels of 10 clinically normal irises from 10 eyes (ages: 1 day-80 years), 4 irises with exfoliation (ages: 64-80 years) and 3 irises from primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) (ages: 27-65 years) were examined with an electron microscope.


RESULTS
Pronounced multilayering of the basal lamina around the vessels, abnormal excessive formation of microfibrils, presence of atrophic invaginations in the outer cell membranes of endothelial cells containing interlacing basal lamina, and an apparent decrease in the perivascular collagen fibers were evident in exfoliative iris vessels devoid of true exfoliation material. Similar, but much milder, changes were evident in normal aged and POAG irises.


CONCLUSIONS
Abnormal elastic tissue and/or basal lamina production plays a role early in the formation of exfoliation material around iris blood vessels.
Khalil
A K
AK
Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, Japan.
Kubota
T
T
Tawara
A
A
Inomata
H
H
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D001485:Basement Membrane / Q000648:ultrastructure; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003094:Collagen / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D017889:Exfoliation Syndrome / Q000473:pathology*; D005902:Glaucoma, Open-Angle / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007498:Iris / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008875:Middle Aged
D003094:Collagen