PURPOSE To characterize phenotypically the primary epithelial cells obtained from normal bulbar conjunctival biopsy specimens and a human conjunctival epithelial cell line (Wong-Kilbourne derivative of Chang conjunctiva; ChWK) with regard to their immunostimulatory function. METHODS The effects on expression of HLA-DR and costimulatory molecules (CD80, CD86, ICAM-1, and CD40) on normal conjun...

Secretory component (SC) was studied by indirect immunofluorescence of the ocular surface epithelium. We find that conjunctival epithelium produces this component, and that it is absent in the corneal epithelium. Conjunctival epithelium loses its SC staining within 1 to 2 days as it grows over a denuded corneal stroma. This implies a very rapid turn-off of the SC gene and rapid export of the ge...

Purpose We determine the effects of bevacizumab on collagen production in a mouse model of conjunctival scarring. Methods Experimental surgery was performed as described for the mouse model of conjunctival scarring, and bevacizumab was introduced by conjunctival injection. The capacity of bevacizumab to recognize conjunctival VEGF-A was determined by ELISA. Col1a1 was measured by real-time PC...

PURPOSE Thymosin-beta4 (Tbeta4) is a small actin-sequestrating peptide that modulates inflammation and healing in different tissues. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular and biochemical expression of Tbeta4 in the healthy conjunctiva and in the conjunctiva of patients with vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC), a severe allergic eye disease characterized by chronic inflammation an...

AIM Inflamed juvenile conjunctival naevi (IJCN) are often erroneously suspected to be malignant because of rapid growth. Their clinical and histopathological features have not been characterised in series of patients. The aim of the study is to characterise IJCN clinically and histopathologically. METHODS This is a retrospective non-randomised clinicopathological study. All patients younger t...

The pathological findings of drowning are variable and non-specific. Petechial hemorrhages involving the periorbital region and the conjunctiva have been described in many causes of death, but are thought to be exceedingly uncommon in cases of drowning. However, such studies have not specifically addressed the pediatric population. The current study retrospectively examined 79 cases of accident...

Background/Aims. To report the safety and efficacy of strontium (Sr(90)) beta radiotherapy as adjuvant treatment for conjunctival melanoma. Methods. A retrospective cohort study was undertaken from 1999 to 2007 of all patients who underwent Sr(90) beta radiotherapy for incompletely excised conjunctival melanoma. Failure of treatment was defined as recurrence of a conjunctival melanoma at the sa...

A frequently cited theory for the pathogenesis of neovascularization in diabetic retinopathy is that retinal hypoxia and/or ischemia release a factor which stimulates neovascularization. To the authors' knowledge, there is no direct in vivo evidence in the human proving this theory. One hundred and twenty-two diabetic subjects were studied to see whether worsening retinopathy was associated wit...

A 65-year old, farm worker female with a six weeks right eye (RE) discomfort, tearing and progressive eyelid swelling was referred to our clinic. Past ophthalmic and systemic history was uneventful. She presented painless, considerable RE superior eyelid edema, bilateral best-corrected visual acuity of 0.9, normal ocular movement and pupil reflex. Slit lamp examination revealed conjunctival hyp...

The regenerated epithelium derived from limbal epithelium was histologically and biochemically compared with epithelia regenerated from corneal and bulbar conjunctival epithelia. The histologic results indicated that regenerated epithelium of limbal origin increased in thickness with time after healing and showed no goblet cell appearance on the cornea. This suggests that regenerated epithelium...