Melatonin Makes Me Feel Awake! Seven Years of Lab Experience (2000-2007)

The research on the effect of melatonin on intraocular pressure (IOP) is reviewed from the hystorical point of view of our laboratory. The original idea of melatonin modulating intraocular pressure has been improved by using selective compounds for MT2 and specially melatonin MT3 receptors. The selective compound 5-methoxyamino N-acetyltryptamine (5-MCA-NAT) has been an attractive compound due to its ability to reduce IOP about 40%, therefore being a good candidate to the treatment of the ocular hypertension linked to glaucoma. More compounds have been developed and tested permitting us to have a more accurate panorama of those receptors controlling the relevant process of intraocular pressure.

Cystoid Macular Edema: Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a review of studies on cystoid macular edema published in the last seven years. Cystoid macular edema is a major cause of loss of visual acuity. It is the final common pathway of many diseases and can be caused by numerous processes including inflammatory, vascular, adverse drug reactions, retinal dystrophy or intraocular tumors. These processes disrupt the blood-retinal barrier, with fluid extravasation to the macular parenchyma. Imaging tests are essential for both detection and monitoring of this pathology. Fluorescein angiography and autofluorescence show the leakage of liquid from perifoveal vessels into the tissue where it forms cystic spaces. Optical coherence tomography is currently the gold standard technique for diagnosis and monitoring. This allows objective measurement of retinal thickness, which correlates with visual acuity and provides more complete morphological information. Based on the underlying etiology, the therapeutic approach can be either surgical or medical with anti-inflammatory drugs. We found that disruption of the blood-retinal barrier for various reasons is the key point in the pathogenesis of cystoid macular edema, therefore we believe that studies on its treatment should proceed on this path.