AUTHOR=Wang Zuo , Liu Donghua , Yuan Hang , Li An , Wang Jinxia , Zhu Xiong , Xiu Wenbo , Zhang Gao , Chen Yang , Chen Lingling , Xiao Xiao , He Chong , Lu Fang 

TITLE=Association of plasma lactoferrin levels with disease severity in glaucoma patients

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2024.1385358

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2024.1385358

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=<sec id="sec1"><title>Objective</title><p>To explore the relationship between plasma lactoferrin (Lf) and glaucoma, assessing the clinical utility of Lf in glaucoma.</p></sec><sec id="sec2"><title>Methods</title><p>A cross-sectional study involved 161 glaucoma patients and 115 healthy controls, with a follow-up of 14 subjects after approximately 2 years. Plasma Lf markers were quantified using ELISA, comparing levels between glaucoma patients and healthy controls, and analyzing plasma Lf across different glaucoma severity grades.</p></sec><sec id="sec3"><title>Results</title><p>Glaucoma patients had significantly elevated plasma Lf levels compared to healthy controls (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001). Higher plasma Lf levels correlated with more severe disease stages (HPA grades showed <italic>ρ</italic> = 0.435, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001; AGIS grades showed <italic>ρ</italic> = 0.436, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001) and reduced retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness (RNFL thickness showed <italic>ρ</italic> = −0.204, <italic>p</italic> = 0.024). ROC curve analysis demonstrated the efficacy of glaucoma markers in differentiating early-stage from advanced glaucoma.</p></sec><sec id="sec4"><title>Conclusion</title><p>Plasma Lf levels are significantly associated with glaucoma severity and may be involved in the pathogenic progression of the disease.</p></sec>