Aqueous humor and serum erythropoietin levels in patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome and pseudoexfoliative glaucoma.

A prospective, non-randomized, comparative study was carried out to investigate aqueous humor and serum erythropoietin (EPO) levels in patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PXS), pseudoexfoliative glaucoma (PXG), and, as controls, senile cataract without glaucoma. Aqueous humor was aspirated at the beginning of cataract or combined glaucoma-cataract surgery from 24 patients with PXS, 24 patients with PXG, and 24 patients with cataract only. Venous blood samples were obtained from all patients at the same time. Levels of EPO were measured in aqueous humor and venous blood using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. There was no statistically significant difference between the mean aqueous humor EPO concentrations in eyes with PXS (10.70 ± 7.18 mU/ml), PXG (10.18 ± 7.20 mU/ml) and controls (9.75 ± 5.04 mU/ml) (P = 0.732). There was no statistically significant difference between the mean serum EPO concentrations in eyes with PXS (6.32 ± 2.86 mU/ml), PXG (7.06 ± 4.35 mU/ml) and controls (7.30 ± 4.15 mU/ml) (P = 0.672). Contrary to predictions based on the relation with ischemic processes, no difference was revealed between levels of EPO in aqueous humor and serum in patients with PXS and PXG.