PURPOSE To evaluate the local safety of bevacizumab and its effect on recurrence of primary pterygium excision. METHODS This randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted on 44 eyes of 44 patients randomized to Group 1 (bevacizumab) and Group 2 (balanced salt solution). Group 1 underwent pterygium excision with a rotational conjunctival flap and received a total of 7.5 mg subcon...

The purpose of this investigation was to analyze the proliferative behavior of rabbit corneal epithelium and establish if any particular region was preferentially involved in epithelial maintenance. [3H]-thymidine was injected intravitreally into both normal eyes and eyes with partially scraped corneal epithelium. Semithin sections of the anterior segment were evaluated by quantitative autoradi...

In this paper we present keratin expression data that lend strong support to a model of corneal epithelial maturation in which the stem cells are located in the limbus, the transitional zone between cornea and conjunctiva. Using a new monoclonal antibody, AE5, which is highly specific for a 64,000-mol-wt corneal keratin, designated RK3, we demonstrate that this keratin is localized in all cell ...

Despite the obvious importance of epithelial stem cells in tissue homeostasis and tumorigenesis, little is known about their specific location or biological characteristics. Using 3H-thymidine labeling, we have identified a subpopulation of corneal epithelial basal cells, located in the peripheral cornea in a region called limbus, that are normally slow cycling, but can be stimulated to prolife...

The limbal epithelial stem cell (LESC) hypothesis proposes that LESCs in the corneal limbus maintain the corneal epithelium both during normal homeostasis and wound repair. The alternative corneal epithelial stem cell (CESC) hypothesis proposes that LESCs are only involved in wound repair and CESCs in the corneal epithelium itself maintain the corneal epithelium during normal homeostasis. We us...

It is thought that corneal surface topography may be stabilized by the angular orientation of out-of plane lamellae that insert into the anterior limiting membrane. In this study, micro-focus X-ray scattering data were used to obtain quantitative information about lamellar inclination (with respect to the corneal surface) and the X-ray scatter intensity throughout the depth of the cornea from t...

Corneal problems affect millions of people worldwide reducing their quality of life significantly. Corneal disease can be caused by illnesses such as Aniridia or Steven Johnson Syndrome as well as by external factors such as chemical burns or radiation. Current treatments are (i) the use of corneal grafts and (ii) the use of stem cell expanded in the laboratory and delivered on carriers (e.g., ...

PURPOSE To determine desmosomal glycoprotein isoform expression in bovine corneal, limbal, and conjunctival epithelium and desmosomal profile and distribution during corneal re-epithelialization. METHODS Immunofluorescence (IF) for desmosomal components on cryostat sections of fresh epithelia was supported by immunoblot analysis of tissue lysates. Wounded corneas maintained in organ culture w...

AIMS The aim of this work was to investigate different surgical options for the repair of the ocular surface, using various extensions of the procedure of limbal stem cell allotransplantation. METHODS/RESULTS Straightforward lamellar limbal transplantation was performed in one patient with contact lens induced limbal stem cell failure. A second patient with a neoplastic corneal lesion underwe...

purpose: to investigate the efficacy of limbal-conjunctival autografting technique in patients with primary pterygium methods: fifteen eyes of 15 patients with primary pterygium underwent surgery for the removal of pterygium with limbal-conjunctival autograft. after the pterygium excision, the limbal portion of the graft was oriented and sutured to the limbus at the recipient bed with the epith...