Effect of cyclosporine A on the corneal inflammatory response in herpes simplex virus keratitis.

The effects of cyclosporine A (CyA), a selective inhibitor of T-lymphocyte function, on the corneal inflammatory response in herpes simplex virus (HSV) stromal keratitis was followed during the course of experimental HSV keratitis in the rabbit. The corneal response, characterized by polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) and mononuclear cells, is an immunologically specific event that is dependent on the presence of viral antigens and immune cells. CyA treatment during the course of HSV keratitis resulted in a more severe and persistent stromal disease and more anterior chamber involvement than that seen in the solvent control-treated HSV-infected animals.

Effects of cyclosporine A on clinical and immunological parameters in herpes simplex keratitis.

The immunosuppressive effects of cyclosporine A (CyA) on the clinical and antiviral immune responses were examined in experimental herpes simplex virus (HSV) keratitis in the rabbit in order to clarify the role that immune lymphocytes play in herpetic stromal disease. Cyclosporine A was administered intramuscularly to rabbits daily starting from the time of corneal infection with HSV until day 14 postinfection. Control HSV-infected rabbits received daily injections of the solvent vehicle alone.

Routes of viral spread in the von Szily model of herpes simplex virus retinopathy.

Intraocular inoculation of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in one eye of rabbits results in encephalitis and contralateral necrotizing viral retinopathy. The effects of viral inoculation site and optic nerve (ON) transection on the spread of virus to the brain and contralateral eye in this model were investigated. A surgical technique was developed for transection of the retrobulbar optic nerve posterior to the entrance of the central retinal vessels.

Ocular toxicity of intravitreal vidarabine solubilized in dimethyl sulfoxide.

Intravitreal injections of the antiviral drug vidarabine in doses of 10, 50, 100, and 200 micrograms dissolved in 100% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) were administered to the eyes of 12 Dutch and New Zealand pigmented rabbits to determine ocular toxicity. The eyes were examined one week, one month, and two months after inoculation with slit-lamp biomicroscopy, indirect ophthalmoscopy, electroretinography, and histopathologic examination with light and electron microscopy. No permanent damage to ocular tissue was found at a vidarabine concentration of 100 micrograms/mL.

Autoimmunity in hereditary retinal degenerations. II. Clinical studies: antiretinal antibodies and fluorescein angiogram findings.

Testing by indirect immunofluorescence for the detection of antiretinal antibodies and lymphocyte stimulation for cell-mediated immunity to retinal antigens was performed on blood obtained from 59 patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and 29 without RP who had other types of retinal disease. The results from the patients' immunological studies were correlated in a masked fashion with six parameters of the fluorescein angiogram: disc staining, peripapillary oedema, vascular arcade oedema, macular oedema, and focal vascular staining (late phases), and disc telangiectasia (early phases). Significant correlations for both groups together were found for IgG antiretinal antibody reactivity and macular oedema (p less than 0.