Background: The effect of corticosteroid therapy on corneal wound healing is controversial. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of combination therapy with dexametha-sone and acetylcysteine at different times and durations on experimentally-induced corneal wounds and haze in rabbits. Methods: Eighteen adult New Zealand white rabbits were divided into three groups of ...

BACKGROUND Keratoconus is a chronic, bilateral, usuallly asymmetrical, non-inflammatory, ectatic disorder, being characterized by progressive steepening, thinning and apical scarring of the cornea. Initially, the patient is asymptomatic, but the visual acuity gradually decreases, resulting in significant vision loss due to the development of irregular astigmatism, myopia, corneal thinning and s...

BACKGROUND Interaction of transmembrane mucins with the multivalent carbohydrate-binding protein galectin-3 is critical to maintaining the integrity of the ocular surface epithelial glycocalyx. This study aimed to determine whether disruption of galectin-3 multimerization and insertion of synthetic glycopolymers in the plasma membrane could be used to modulate glycocalyx barrier function in cor...

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to determine whether 25-hydroxyvitamin D(3) (25(OH)D(3)) and/or its active metabolite, 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) (1,25(OH)(2)D(3)), can enhance corneal epithelial barrier function. The authors also determined if corneas contain mRNA for the vitamin D receptor (VDR) and 1α-hydroxylase, the enzyme required to convert 25(OH)D(3) to 1,25(OH)(2)D(3), and measu...

intraocular area via both corneal and noncorneal pathways which are composed of cornea and conjunctiva–sclera, respectively. Although the corneal pathway is thought to be the primary route of intraocular entry for most drugs, penetration via the noncorneal pathway can also be important for the penetration of drugs which are poorly absorbed across the cornea. In addition, the noncorneal pathway ...

One hundred consecutively submitted corneas removed by penetrating keratoplasty were studied histologically to determine the frequency in which eosinophils are found. In 20 corneas eosinophils occurred in densities ranging from 0.2 to more than 50 per high power field (HPF), and accounted for 1.5% to 100% of the total leucocytes counted. More than half of the corneal specimens containing eosino...

The oxygen permeability (Dk) of ten 24-hr collagen shields was measured directly by polarographic methodology at approximately 2 hr of hydration. Edge and boundary effects were included in the calculations. Dk was found to be approximately 26 x 10(-11) cm ml O2/sec ml mmHg at 35 degrees C. Mean water content of the shields was 65.7% (SD = 1.0%) as measured by a hand refractometer. Therefore, th...

Background/Objective: Hyperphosphatemia is the consequence of end stage renal failure. Inadequate control of serum phosphorus results in elevated Ca×P product with subsequent soft tissue deposition in the form of conjunctival and corneal calcification.  In this study, we evaluated the relationship of conjunctival and corneal calcification with secondary hyperparathyroidism in hemodialysis patie...