title: Aqueous humor levels of vascular endothelial growth factor in retinitis pigmentosa.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the level of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) in aqueous humors of patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP).
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective, comparative control study. Aqueous humor was collected from 16 eyes of 16 patients with RP. The level of VEGF-A was determined with a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. The control group comprised 16 aqueous samples from 16 patients about to undergo cataract surgery and without any other ocular or systemic diseases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The concentration of VEGF-A in aqueous humor was markedly lower in patients with RP than in control subjects (Mann-Whitney U test, P < 0.001). The level of VEGF-A was 94.9 +/- 99.8 (mean +/- SD) pg/mL in eyes with RP and 336.5 +/- 116.8 pg/mL in the eyes of the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In patients with RP, the concentration of VEGF-A in aqueous humors is lower than in non-RP subjects. The lack of angiogenic actions attributed to VEGF-A may explain some of the clinical manifestations of this disease, such as narrowing and fibrotic degeneration of retinal blood vessels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University General Hospital of Valencia, Valencia, Spain. david.salom@yahoo.com
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Salom
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Diaz-Llopis
authors.forename: Salvador
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: García-Delpech
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Udaondo
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sancho-Tello
authors.forename: F Javier
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Romero
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001082:Aqueous Humor / Q000378:metabolism*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012174:Retinitis Pigmentosa / Q000378:metabolism*; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: C467484:VEGFA protein, human; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A