Research Article

N-Acetyl-L-cysteine Protects Human Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells from Oxidative Damage: Implications for Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Table 1

Donor characteristics and clinical information.

Disease statebSamplec ()Sex
Male ()
Sex
Female ()
Aged ()Timee ()Cause of deathf ()

No AMD211011ABI (2), ACE (2), ALS (1), cancer (5), CVA (2), ESRD (1), MI (1), pneumonia (1), respiratory failure (2), and sepsis (4)
AMD32239ACE (3), cancer (6), cardiac arrest (2), CHF (4), COPD (2), CVA (2), ESLD (1), MI (1), multisystem organ failure (1), pneumonia (2), sepsis (7), and unknown (1)

ABI: anoxic brain injury; ACE: acute cardiac event; ALS: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; CHF: congestive heart failure; CVA: cerebrovascular accident; COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ESLD: end-stage liver disease; ESRD: end-stage renal disease; MI: myocardial infarction. Information supplied by Lions Gift of Sight (St. Paul, MN). Minnesota Grading System (MGS) was used to evaluate the stage of AMD in eye bank eyes (Olsen and Feng [21]). No AMD: MGS1; AMD: MGS 2, 3, or 4. Sample number indicates the total donors with or without AMD used in the current study. Age of donors is significantly different between No AMD and AMD groups () by -test analysis. The time from death to harvesting in hours. The number of donors for each cause of death is indicated in parentheses.