Methods: A total of 3843 participants (7,020 healthy eyes) were enrolled from the Singapore Epidemiology of Eye Diseases (SEED) study, a population-based study composing of three major ethnic groups-Malay, Indian, and Chinese-in Singapore. Ocular examinations were performed, and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) was used to measure circumpapillary RNFL thickness. We selected 35 independent glaucoma-associated genetic loci for analysis. An linear regression model was conducted to determine the association of these variants with circumpapillary RNFL, assuming an additive genetic model. We conducted association analysis in each of the three ethnic groups, followed by a meta-analysis of them.

Results: The mean age of the included participants was 59.4 ± 8.9 years, and the mean RFNL thickesss is 92.3 ± 11.2 µm. In the meta-analyses, of the 35 glacuoma loci, we found that only SIX6 was significantly associated with reduction in global RNFL thickness (rs33912345; β = -1.116 um per risk allele, P = 1.64E-05), and the effect size was larger in the inferior RNFL quadrant (β = -2.015 µm, P = 2.9E-6), and superior RNFL quadrant (β = -1.646 µm, P = 6.54E-5). The SIX6 association were consistently observed across all three ethnic groups. Other than RNFL, we also found several genetic varaints associated with vertical cuo-to-disc ratio (ATOH7, CDKN2B-AS1, and TGFBR3-CDC7), rim area (SIX6 and CDKN2B-AS1), and disc area (SIX6, ATOH7, and TGFBR3-CDC7). The association of SIX6 rs33912345 with NRFL thickness remained similar after further adjusting for disc area and 3 other disc parameter associated SNPs (ATOH7, CDKN2B-AS1, and TGFBR3-CDC7).

Methods: Light-induced damage to the retina was created by exposure of adult albino Sprague-Dawley rats to intense light for 24 hours. A single dose of Cx43MP, Cx43MP-NPs, or saline was injected intravitreally at 2 hours after onset of light damage. Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labelled Cx43MP-NPs were intravitreally injected to confirm delivery into the retina. Electroretinogram (ERG) recordings were performed at 24 hours, 1 week, and 2 weeks post cessation of light damage. The retinal and choroidal layers were analyzed in vivo using optical coherence tomography (OCT) and immunohistochemistry was performed on harvested tissues using glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), leukocyte common antigen (CD45), and Cx43 antibodies.

Results: FITC was visualized 30 minutes after injection in the ganglion cell layer and in the choroid. Cx43MP and Cx43MP-NP treatments improved a-wave and b-wave function of the ERG compared with saline-injected eyes at 1 week and 2 weeks post treatment, and prevented photoreceptor loss by 2 weeks post treatment. Inflammation was also reduced and this was in parallel with downregulation of Cx43 expression.

Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional study. A total of 3303 subjects aged 40 years and above from two large population-based cohorts, the Singapore Malay Eye Study-2 (n = 1191, 2011-2013) and the Singapore Indian Eye Study-2 (n = 2112, 2013-2015), were included. The presence of symptoms of dry eye was defined as having at least one of six symptoms often or all the time. Sleep questionnaires included the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Berlin Questionnaire, STOP-bang questionnaire, and Insomnia Severity Index. Poor sleep quality was defined as meeting the respective questionnaire thresholds. General health questionnaires (including sleep duration) and standardized ocular and systemic tests were also used.

Results: Of 3303 participants, 6.4% had excessive sleepiness, 20.5% had high risk for sleep apnea, 2.7% had clinical insomnia, and 7.8% had <5 hours of sleep. These sleep factors were associated with symptoms of dry eye. After adjusting for relevant demographic, medical, and social factors, the following were associated with higher odds of symptoms of dry eye: excessive sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale: odds ratio [OR] = 1.77 [1.15-2.71]), high risk of sleep apnea (Berlin Questionnaire: OR = 1.55 [1.17-2.07], STOP-Bang Questionnaire: OR = 2.66 [1.53-4.61]), clinical insomnia (Insomnia Severity Index: OR = 3.68 [2.17-6.26]) and <5 hours of sleep (OR = 1.73 [1.17-2.57], reference sleep duration 5-9 hours). Sleep apnea, insomnia, and sleep duration were each shown to be independently associated with symptoms of dry eye.

METHODS: Faecal samples were collected from 52 adult participants, of whom 23 were NM, 8 were progressive myopes (PM), and 21 were stable myopes (SM). The composition of the gut microbiota in each group was analysed using 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing.

RESULTS: There were no significant differences in alpha and beta diversity between the three groups (NM, PM, and SM). However, the distributions of Bifidobacterium, Bacteroides, Megamonas, Faecalibacterium, Coprococcus, Dorea, Roseburia, and Blautia were significantly higher in the myopes (SM and PM combined) when compared with emmetropes. The myopes exhibited significantly greater abundance of bacteria that are linked to the regulation of dopaminergic signalling, such as Clostridium, Ruminococcus, Bifidobacterium, and Bacteroides. Individuals with stable myopia were found to have a significantly higher proportion of Prevotella copri than those with progressive myopia. Bifidobacterium adolescentis, a gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-producing bacterium, was significantly higher in all myopes than in NM and, in the comparison between SM and PM, it is significantly higher in SM. B. uniformis and B. fragilis, both GABA-producing Bacteroides, were present in relatively high abundance in all myopes and in SM compared with PM, respectively.