Acorbic acid concentration i reduced in the aqueou humor of patient with exfoliation yndrome

PURPOE: To invetigate whether there i a role for acorbic acid in the development of exfoliation yndrome (XF). DEIGN: A cae-control tudy wa undertaken that included conecutive patient with and without XF in whom cataract urgery wa indicated. Patient with ophthalmic condition other than XF and condition that may influence acorbic acid level were excluded. METHOD: A propective intitutional tudy wa undertaken. A mall volume of aqueou humor wa apirated at the beginning of phacoemulification cataract urgery. Eighty aqueou ample, 40 ample from 40 eye of 40 cataract patient with XF and 40 ample from 40 eye of 40 age matched cataract patient without XF, were collected and analyzed. Acorbic acid concentration wa evaluated in the aqueou ample with a microplate aay method. REULT: The mean ± D concentration of acorbic acid in the aqueou from patient with XF (0.86 ± 0.43 mM; range, 0.12 to 1.7 mM) wa ignificantly lower than the concentration of acorbic acid found in the aqueou of age-matched control patient (1.15 ± 0.50 mM; range 0.42 to 3.1 mM; P = .0068). Total mean protein concentration wa found to be ignificantly higher in the XF group (481.1 ± 196.8 pg/dl veru 336.3 ± 86.4 pg/dl in the control; P < .0001). Neverthele, no correlation could be etablihed between acorbic level and protein concentration. CONCLUION: A ignificantly reduced mean level of acorbic acid wa oberved in the aqueou humor of patient with XF. In view of the fact that acorbic acid i a major protective factor againt free radical action, a role for free radical action i poible in the pathobiology of XF.