Significant elevation of aqueous endothelin-1 in central retinal vein occlusion

PURPOSE: To investigate aqueous humor concentrations of endothelin-1 (ET-1) in patients with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) compared with patients with branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) and a normal control group. METHODS: A total 80 subjects were included in this prospective study, including 15 patients with CRVO, 20 patients with BRVO, and 45 patients who underwent cataract surgery and had no concomitant ocular disease. Aqueous humor levels of ET-1 were obtained before intravitreal bevacizumab injection (IVB) and after 1 month. RESULTS: At baseline, the mean aqueous ET-1 level was 12.7±3.6 pg/mL in the CRVO group, 8.0±2.3 pg/mL in the BRVO group, and 2.0±0.9 pg/mL in the control group (P<0.001). After IVB, the mean aqueous level of ET-1 was 3.4±1.9 pg/mL (0.5–6.9 pg/mL) in the CRVO group and 1.8±1.0 pg/mL (0.3–3.2 pg/mL) in the BRVO group (P = 0.008). The mean aqueous ET-1 level was significantly reduced in both the patients with CRVO and those with BRVO (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: The mean aqueous humor ET-1 level was significant higher in the patients with CRVO than those with BRVO and in the control group. After IVB, the mean level was significantly reduced in both the patients with CRVO and those with BRVO.