Inhibition of corneal fibrosis by Smad7 in rats after photorefractive keratectomy.

Background: Haze or corneal subepithelial fibrosis is one of the common complications after refractive surgery procedures, such as photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), laser epithelial keratomileusis, and epipolis laser in situ keratomileusis, which would result in refractive regression, decreased visual quality, and corneal opacification. Haze directly resulted from corneal fibrosis mediated by transforming growth factor β (TGFβ). Smad7, an inhibitory Smad, can inhibit TGFβ signal transduction.

Development of a novel two color tracer perfusion technique for the hydrodynamic study of aqueous outflow in bovine eyes.

Background: Elevation of intraocular pressure is usually associated with primary open angle glaucoma and caused by increased outflow resistance. A two-color fluorescent tracer technique was developed to investigate the hydrodynamics of aqueous humor outflow with changing intraocular pressure within the same eye, to better understand the relationship between outflow facility and effective filtration area.

Methods: Eighteen enucleated bovine eyes were first perfused at 30 mmHg with Dulbecco's phosphate-buffered saline containing 5.