Imaging and quantification of subbasal nerve plexus in healthy volunteers and diabetic patients with or without retinopathy.

Background: The alterations of subbasal nerve plexus (SBP) innervation and corneal sensation were estimated non-invasively and compared with the values in healthy volunteers. Additionally, this study addressed the relation of SBP changes to the retinal status, glycemic control and diabetes duration.

Methodology/principal Findings: Eighteen eyes of diabetic patients with peripheral diabetic neuropathy aged 68.

Biomechanical profile of the cornea in primary congenital glaucoma.

Purpose: The aim of our study was to investigate the biomechanical properties of the cornea in primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) and to identify the potential ocular determinants, which affect the corneal biomechanical metrics.

Methods: Corneal hysteresis (CH), corneal resistance factor (CRF) and central corneal thickness (CCT) were measured in 26 patients with PCG (40 eyes) with the aid of ocular response analyser. In vivo laser-scanning confocal microscopy was used for the estimation of stromal keratocyte density (KD) and the evaluation of corneal endothelium.

Evaluation of protective effects of trehalose on desiccation of epithelial cells in three dimensional reconstructed human corneal epithelium.

Purpose: Trehalose has been shown to protect epithelial cells from desiccation damage in cell culture and the murine dry eye model. The present study evaluates the protective role of trehalose in reconstructed human corneal epithelium (3D-HCE) during desiccation.

Materials And Methods: The morphology of 3D-HCE was examined using in vivo an ex vivo confocal laser-scanning microscopy (CLSM).

Collagen cross-linking: current status and future directions.

Collagen cross-linking (CXL) using UVA light and riboflavin (vitamin B2) was introduced as a clinical application to stabilize the cornea by inducing cross-links within and between collagen fibers. CXL has been investigated extensively and has been shown clinically to arrest the progression of keratoconic or post-LASIK ectasia. With its minimal cost, simplicity, and proven positive clinical outcome, CXL can be regarded as a useful approach to reduce the number of penetrating keratoplasties performed.

Corneal alterations during combined therapy with cyclodextrin/allopregnanolone and miglustat in a knock-out mouse model of NPC1 disease.

Background: Niemann Pick disease type C1 is a neurodegenerative disease caused by mutations in the NPC1 gene, which result in accumulation of unesterified cholesterol and glycosphingolipids in the endosomal-lysosomal system as well as limiting membranes. We have previously shown the corneal involvement in NPC1 pathology in form of intracellular inclusions in epithelial cells and keratocytes. The purpose of the present study was to clarify if these inclusions regress during combined substrate reduction- and by-product therapy (SRT and BPT).

Human neural progenitor cells show functional neuronal differentiation and regional preference after engraftment onto hippocampal slice cultures.

The transplantation of stem cells offers potential therapies for many neurodegenerative disorders that currently have limited or no treatment options. However, relatively little is known about how the host environment affects the development and integration of these cells. In this study we have engrafted immortalized human midbrain neural progenitor cells (NPCs) onto rat hippocampal brain slice cultures to examine the influence of a neural environment on differentiation.

In vivo confocal laser-scanning microscopy to characterize wound repair in rabbit corneas after collagen cross-linking.

Background: Collagen cross-linking using the photosensitizer riboflavin combined with ultraviolet A light was developed to stiffen the cornea by increasing its mechanical and biochemical stability. Investigation of post-treatment events, such as wound healing, is important to evaluate possible risks and to optimize treatment protocols. This in vivo confocal laser-scanning microscopy study in rabbits was conducted to provide a quantitative and qualitative analysis of corneal wound repair over 16 weeks following collagen cross-linking.

Combined nonlinear and femtosecond confocal laser-scanning microscopy of rabbit corneas after photochemical cross-linking.

Purpose: Photochemical cross-linking of corneal stromal collagen using riboflavin and ultraviolet irradiation is an evolving treatment for keratoconus. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the wound-healing process in rabbit corneas after cross-linking.

Methods: Photochemical cross-linking was performed according to a standard protocol on the right eyes of eight male New Zealand White rabbits; the left eyes served as controls.

Morphological alterations of the cornea in the mouse model of niemann-pick disease type c1.

Purpose: Niemann-Pick disease type C1 (NPC1) is a genetic neurovisceral disorder characterized by abnormalities in intracellular sterol trafficking. A knockout mouse model (NPC1) is an important tool for the study of pathogenesis and treatment strategies. In the present study, NPC1 mice were examined for pathological changes in the cornea.

Comparative in vivo confocal microscopical study of the cornea anatomy of different laboratory animals.

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to analyze and compare in vivo morphology of healthy cornea of six different laboratory animals.

Materials And Methods: One Pomeranian Coarsewool sheep, 5 Beagle dogs, 1 Norwegian and 2 Domestic Short-haired cats, 20 New Zealand White rabbits, 6 Wistar rats, and 10 Balb/c mice were included. The examination was performed bilaterally, using Heidelberg Retina Tomograph equipped with Rostock Cornea Module.

Short-term corneal response to cross-linking in rabbit eyes assessed by in vivo confocal laser scanning microscopy and histology.

Purpose: Corneal cross-linking for the treatment of keratoconus has been tested in animal trials and proven clinically. A combination of in vivo confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and histology was used in rabbit corneas to assess early modifications at the cellular level after corneal cross-linking.

Methods: Twelve New Zealand male rabbits were tested; in each case, the right eye was the study eye and left eye was the control eye.

Structural-functional correlations of corneal innervation after LASIK and penetrating keratoplasty.

Purpose: To compare corneal subbasal nerve fiber distribution and corneal sensation in healthy humans with findings obtained in regenerated subbasal nerves after LASIK and penetrating keratoplasty (PK).

Methods: In a comparative case series study, in vivo confocal laser-scanning microscopy was used to investigate subbasal nerve fiber bundles in healthy individuals and at various time points after surgery in patients who had undergone LASIK and corneal grafting. Corneal sensation was measured (Cochet-Bonnet esthesiometer).

Visualization of femtosecond laser pulse-induced microincisions inside crystalline lens tissue.

Purpose: To evaluate a new method for visualizing femtosecond laser pulse-induced microincisions inside crystalline lens tissue.

Setting: Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V.

In vitro characterization of embryionic ST14A-cells.

The embryonic striatal temperature sensitive immortalized ST14A-cell line was characterized in vitro by immunocytochemistry when cultured at 33 degrees C and at nonpermissive temperature of 39 degrees C for up to 14 days. At 33 degrees C in DMEM/10% FCS, cells proliferated, were extensively expressing the neural progenitor cell markers nestin and vimentin contrary to neuronal markers. However, when cultured at 39 degrees C the proliferation was delayed and cells began to increase the expression of neuronal markers, followed by a decrease of nestin and vimentin.

Mesencephalic human neural progenitor cells transplanted into the adult hemiparkinsonian rat striatum lack dopaminergic differentiation but improve motor behavior.

The clinical outcome of cell replacement therapies depends upon the successful survival and differentiation of transplanted cells. Here, we transplanted human neural progenitor cells derived from the ventral mesencephalon of an 8-week-old embryo into the ipsilateral (right) striatum of unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned adult rats. To assess the therapeutic potency of grafted cells, 2 independent behavioral tests were conducted 12 weeks after transplantation: in the rotation test, a mild behavioral improvement was detected, and in the cylinder test, transplanted animals overcame the lesion-induced right forepaw preference.

Mesencephalic human neural progenitor cells transplanted into the neonatal hemiparkinsonian rat striatum differentiate into neurons and improve motor behaviour.

Neural stem cell transplantation is a promising strategy for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. To evaluate the differentiation potential of human neural progenitor cells (hNPCs) as a prerequisite for clinical trials, we intracerebrally transplanted in vitro expanded fetal mesencephalic hNPCs into hemiparkinsonian rats. On postnatal day one (P1), 17 animals underwent a unilateral intraventricular 6-hydroxydopamine injection into the right lateral ventricle.