Steroid-eluting contact lenses for corneal and intraocular inflammation.

Ocular inflammation is one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide, and steroids in topical ophthalmic solutions (e.g. dexamethasone eye drops) are the mainstay of therapy for ocular inflammation.

Topical sustained drug delivery to the retina with a drug-eluting contact lens.

Intravitreal injections and implants are used to deliver drugs to the retina because therapeutic levels of these medications cannot be provided by topical administration (i.e. eye drops).

Corneal Cross-Linking With Verteporfin and Nonthermal Laser Therapy.

Purpose: To test whether verteporfin with a nonthermal laser increases corneal mechanical stiffness and resistance to enzymatic degradation ex vivo.

Methods: Thirty human corneas (n = 5 per group) were treated with verteporfin alone (V), irradiated with nonthermal laser therapy (689 nm) alone (NTL), or received combined treatment of verteporfin with nonthermal laser therapy for 1 sequence (V+NTL1) or 6 sequences (V+NTL6) of 1 minute of NTL exposure. Positive controls were pretreated with 0.

Keratoprosthesis: A Review of Recent Advances in the Field.

Since its discovery in the years of the French Revolution, the field of keratoprostheses has evolved significantly. However, the path towards its present state has not always been an easy one. Initially discarded for its devastating complications, the introduction of new materials and the discovery of antibiotics in the last century gave new life to the field.

Titanium Coating of the Boston Keratoprosthesis.

Purpose: We tested the feasibility of using titanium to enhance adhesion of the Boston Keratoprosthesis (B-KPro), ultimately to decrease the risk of implant-associated complications.

Methods: Cylindrical rods were made of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), PMMA coated with titanium dioxide (TiO) over a layer of polydopamine (PMMA), smooth (Ti) and sandblasted (Ti) titanium, and titanium treated with oxygen plasma (Ti and Ti). Topography and surface chemistry were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

Boston Keratoprosthesis Type 1 in Chemical Burns.

Purpose: To describe and further analyze the long-term results in visual acuity (VA), anatomical retention, and rate of complications from patients who underwent Boston keratoprosthesis (B-Kpro) type 1 after ocular chemical burns in the Dominican Republic.

Methods: A retrospective review of 42 eyes (22 OD:20 OS) of 36 patients who underwent B-Kpro type 1 implantation after severe ocular burn at Hospital Elías Santana in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, between April 2006 and October 2014, were included.

Results: Demographics, VA, anatomical retention, and the rates of postoperative complications and concurrent surgeries were evaluated.

Corneal Anesthesia With Site 1 Sodium Channel Blockers and Dexmedetomidine.

Purpose: Amino-amide or amino-ester local anesthetics, which are currently used for topical ocular anesthesia, are short acting and may delay corneal healing with long-term use. In contrast, site 1 sodium channel blockers (S1SCBs) are potent local anesthetics with minimal adverse tissue reaction. In this study, we examined topical local anesthesia with two S1SCBs, tetrodotoxin (TTX) or saxitoxin (STX) individually or in combination with α2-adrenergic receptor agonists (dexmedetomidine or clonidine), and compared them with the amino-ester ocular anesthetic proparacaine.

Expression of Multidrug Resistance Transporter ABCB5 in a Murine Model of Human Conjunctival Melanoma.

Conjunctival melanoma (CM) is a rare ocular malignancy with a high tendency to reoccur locally and with a high risk of metastatic disease. Metastases are often unresponsive to conventional treatment. Recently, an animal model was set up using human CM cells.

A Murine Model for Metastatic Conjunctival Melanoma.

Purpose: Conjunctival melanoma (CM) is an ocular malignancy with a high rate of local recurrences after treatment, and can give rise to deadly metastases. The establishment of a murine model will further our understanding of this disease and allow in vivo testing of new therapies. We therefore analyzed the ability of three CM cell lines to grow orthotopically and spread to distant sites.

ABCB5 is a limbal stem cell gene required for corneal development and repair.

Corneal epithelial homeostasis and regeneration are sustained by limbal stem cells (LSCs), and LSC deficiency is a major cause of blindness worldwide. Transplantation is often the only therapeutic option available to patients with LSC deficiency. However, while transplant success depends foremost on LSC frequency within grafts, a gene allowing for prospective LSC enrichment has not been identified so far.

Opposing roles for membrane bound and soluble Fas ligand in glaucoma-associated retinal ganglion cell death.

Glaucoma, the most frequent optic neuropathy, is a leading cause of blindness worldwide. Death of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) occurs in all forms of glaucoma and accounts for the loss of vision, however the molecular mechanisms that cause RGC loss remain unclear. The pro-apoptotic molecule, Fas ligand, is a transmembrane protein that can be cleaved from the cell surface by metalloproteinases to release a soluble protein with antagonistic activity.

Retinoblastoma cells are inhibited by aminoimidazole carboxamide ribonucleotide (AICAR) partially through activation of AMP-dependent kinase.

5-Aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-beta-4-ribofuranoside (AICAR), an analog of AMP, is widely used as an activator of AMP-kinase (AMPK), a protein that regulates the responses of the cell to energy change. We studied the effects of AICAR on the growth of retinoblastoma cell lines (Y79, WERI, and RB143). AICAR inhibited Rb cell growth, induced apoptosis and S-phase cell cycle arrest, and led to activation of AMPK.