AIMS A blind, randomised, prospective, bilateral study to investigate the efficacy of riboflavin/ultraviolet A corneal collagen cross-linkage to halt the progression of keratoconus. METHODS 24 patients with early/moderate bilateral keratoconus with recent progression were recruited. One eye was randomly assigned to undergo collagen cross-linkage following epithelial removal with riboflavin 0....

PURPOSE To report the molecular genetic analysis of a Japanese pedigree with Meesmann's corneal dystrophy (MCD). METHODS Sequencing of the keratin 3 and keratin 12 genes was performed in 2 patients who were siblings and in an unaffected individual in the same family. The patients had the typical corneal microcysts and recurrent erosions with mild photophobia. RESULTS A novel mutation result...

PURPOSE To evaluate the effect of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) eye drops in the treatment of recurrent corneal erosions (RCE). METHODS A total of 47 eyes were included in this retrospective study. Clinical records of 20 consecutive patients with RCE who had been treated with conventional lubricant eye drops (conventional treatment group) from June 2006 to December 2008 and 27 consecutive patien...

Epithelial basement membrane dystrophy (EBMD) is the most common corneal dystrophy seen in clinical practice. Its appearance varies, which leads to frequent misdiagnosis, but presentation most often includes dot-like epithelial opacities, whorl-like fingerprint lines and circumscribed gray map-like patterns. It is for this reason that EBMD is also referred to as a map-dot-fingerprint dystrophy....

OBJECTIVE To determine whether molecular manipulation of the opioid growth factor receptor (OGFr) alters corneal reepithelialization following central corneal abrasion in rats. METHODS The plasmid pcDNA3.1 + OGFr, carrying the rat OGFr complementary DNA in both the sense and antisense orientations, and empty vector (EV), were delivered by gene gun to the rat cornea. After 24 hours, corneas we...

Corneal epithelial stem cells are thought to be at the limbus. The limbal epithelium was surgically removed in 12 New Zealand white rabbits. After 6 months, four showed mild vascularization. To challenge the remaining proliferative reserve, two consecutive 7.5-mm epithelial woundings were created 3 weeks apart in 11 limbal-deficient corneas and 11 controls. After the first wounding, five of the...

We evaluated the effect of precarved collagen lenses on the kinetics of epithelial wound healing in an experimental model of corneal erosions. After induction of anesthesia, central corneal erosions of 5-mm diameter were created in New Zealand white rabbits using n-heptanol. Animals were randomly assigned either to the treatment group or to one of three control groups. Each animal in the treatm...

BACKGROUND Avellino corneal dystrophy (ACD) is an autosomal dominant disorder, characterized by the presence of deposits in the anterior stroma, and results from a specific mutation (R124H) in the transforming growth factor beta-induced gene (TGFBI). This report presents corneal dystrophy of the Bowman layer as a rare phenotypic appearance of ACD and a high intra-familial variability of phenoty...

The focus in relation to the consequences of nerve damage in diabetes has been the loss of sensation in the feet predisposing to the development of foot ulceration and lower extremity amputation (1). However, the cornea is 300– 600 times more sensitive than skin (2). In addition to serving a protective function, corneal nerves regulate corneal epithelial integrity, proliferation, and wound heal...