Comparison of serum C3, C3a, C4 levels between cataract patients with and without pseudoexfoliation and normal individuals

Abstract

<title>Abstract</title> <bold>Backgrounds:</bold> We aimed to compare serum complement C3, C3a, and C4 levels between cataract patients with and without pseudoexfoliation syndrome, and to compare these groups with the control group. <bold>Methods:</bold> There were three different groups in the study. The total of 150 patients, 50 in each group, were included. Group 1 consisted of cataract patients with pseudoexfoliation, Group 2 consisted of cataract patients without pseudoexfoliation, and Group 3 consisted of healthy individuals. After centrifugation of the blood samples, the serum portion was stored at –80°C until the analysis. Complement C3, C3a, and C4 levels were evaluated in these three groups using commercially available sandwich ELISA kits. <bold>Results:</bold> There was a statistically significant difference just between Group 1 and Group 2 regarding C4 values. However, after the age correction, this significance was disappeared. <bold>Conclusions:</bold> According to this study, there may not be a relationship between the complement pathway and the immune system in cataract patients with and without pseudoexfoliation syndrome.