Clinical Research Directory

Predicting the Risk of Partial Ciliary Block After Cataract and Goniosynechialysis Surgery in Primary Angle-Closure Disease

Primary angle-closure disease (PACD) is a major cause of vision loss, often treated with a combined surgery that removes the eye's natural lens (cataract surgery) and physically opens the eye's drainage system (goniosynechialysis). While effective, this surgery carries a small risk of a severe complication called ciliary block (or aqueous misdirection), where fluid builds up in the wrong part of the eye, pushing structures forward and causing high eye pressure. Recently, doctors have also noticed a "partial" form of this block, which can slowly cause the eye's drainage angle to close again without immediate severe symptoms. The purpose of this prospective, observational study is to identify which patients are at the highest risk for developing classic or partial ciliary block after this combined surgery. Researchers will use standard, non-invasive eye imaging tools-such as ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) and optical coherence tomography (OCT)-to take highly detailed measurements of the front of the eye before surgery. They will specifically look at factors like the width of the anterior chamber, the thickness of the lens, and the eye's overall length. To ensure accuracy, patients with a very short eye length (less than 19mm) will not be included in the study. Because this is an observational study, participation will not change a patient's standard surgical plan. Patients will undergo their scheduled surgery and be monitored for 12 months during routine follow-up visits to track their eye pressure, vision, and any structural changes in the eye. By confirming which pre-surgery measurements predict ciliary block, researchers hope to validate a risk-warning model. This will help eye surgeons take preventive steps-such as administering specific medications like mannitol before surgery-to make the procedure safer and improve long-term outcomes for patients with PACD.

The Multi-Omics Analysis of Lens Zonule Relaxation in The PACG Pathogenesis

Compared with primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) patients without zonular laxity and the control group, there are differentially expressed molecules in PACG patients with zonular laxity, and a potential mechanistic network can be constructed therefrom.

Vitreous Zonule in Primary Angle-Closure Glaucoma

This study aims to investigate the role of the vitreous zonule (VZ) in the pathogenesis of primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) and to explore the feasibility of three-dimensional ultrasound biomicroscopy (3D-UBM) for imaging the circumferential VZ. This prospective, observational study will enroll patients with primary angle-closure disease (PACD), including primary angle-closure suspect (PACS), primary angle-closure (PAC), and PACG, as well as healthy controls. All participants will undergo comprehensive ophthalmic examinations, including gonioscopy, biometric measurements using IOLMaster, and UBM imaging. The study consists of three main components: (1) analysis of VZ morphology, location, number of visible quadrants, and anterior segment parameters across different age groups and axial length groups in healthy individuals, with comparisons to age-matched PACD patients; (2) development and validation of a 3D-UBM imaging system using a rotational scanning approach to reconstruct the spatial structure of the VZ; and (3) characterization of VZ features, including density and morphology, in normal eyes versus PACD eyes using 3D-UBM. The primary outcomes include the presence, quadrant count, and morphological characteristics (vitreous zonule-pars plana angle and maximum distance) of the VZ, as well as anterior segment parameters such as lens vault, anterior chamber depth, trabecular-iris angle, and angle opening distance. By elucidating age-related and axial length-related changes in the VZ and establishing 3D-UBM as a novel imaging modality for the posterior zonular apparatus, this study seeks to provide new evidence for the mechanistic role of the VZ in angle-closure glaucoma and to identify potential imaging biomarkers for early diagnosis and risk stratification.