Aqueous Humor Cytokine Levels as Prognostic Factors for Ultrasound Cycloplasty Outcomes in Primary Glaucoma Patients

To evaluate the levels of 40 cytokines in the aqueous humor (AH) and their correlation with ultrasound cycloplasty (UCP) outcomes in patients with primary glaucoma.

Aqueous humor samples were collected from 38 primary glaucoma patients after UCP procedure. The cytokines were measured via antibody arrays and evaluated via Cox proportional hazards regression to determine the UCP outcomes. Follow-up visits were performed at 1 day, 1 week, and 1 and 3 months postoperatively. The study subjects were allocated into success and failure groups based on surgical results.

Significantly high MCP-1 (P=0.034) and TGF-β1 levels (P=0.041) were observed in the failure group. Both univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that high MCP-1 (P=0.040, P=0.018) and TGF-β1 (P=0.049, P=0.041) levels were significant risk factors for UCP failure. The levels of MCP-1 were positively correlated with intraocular pressure (IOP) at 1 day (r=0.416, P=0.010) and 3 months (r=0.329, P=0.044) postoperatively.

In primary glaucoma patients, high postoperative levels of MCP-1 and TGF-β1 were significant risk factors for UCP failure. MCP-1 levels in the AH could be a potential indicator for predicting postoperative IOP.