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Abstract #5988 Published in IGR 2-2
Formation of the aqueous humor
Macknight AD; McLaughlin CW; Peart D; Purves RD; Carre DA; Civan MMClinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology 2000; 27: 100-106
Glaucoma is a worldwide disease affecting approximately 1-2% of the population aged over 35 years in industrial countries and is a major cause of blindness. Glaucoma is usually associated with an increased intraocular pressure reflecting an imbalance between the rate of production of fluid (the aqueous humor) by the ciliary epithelial cells and its drainage from the eye. Therefore, it is important to understand how this secretion is produced. This requires a knowledge of ciliary epithelial cell composition, which has, in the past, proved difficult to obtain in mammalian preparations. The authors have recently used the technique of electron-probe X-ray microanalysis to determine this composition under a variety of in vitro conditions. Their results have led to a new model for this secretion that emphasizes the potential secretory role of the Na+/K+/2Cl- cotransporter.
Dr. A.D. Macknight, Department of Physiology, University of Otago Medical School, Dunedin, New Zealand. tony.macknight@stonebow.otago.ac.nz
Classification:
2.6 Aqueous humor dynamics (Part of: 2 Anatomical structures in glaucoma)
