Increase of aqueous humor proteins with aging

Quantitative analyses by crossed immunoelectrophoresis were carried out on 31 eyes of 26 cataract patients, age 4-80 years, to detect age changes in the human aqueous humor especially in the following aqueous humor proteins: prealbumin, albumin, alpha 1-acid glycoprotein and transferrin. There was a significant correlation between age and concentration of each of the 4 proteins. The results reported in this paper may be due to senile alteration of the pathway that serum proteins follow from the leaky vessels of the ciliary body to the anterior chamber and/or to a decrease of the aqueous flow rate with advancing age. The relationship between the ages and the aqueous humor protein levels established in this study can be utilized as controls in studying the aqueous humor proteins in uveitis and other ocular diseases.