Belgian Endothelial Surgical Transplant of the Cornea (BEST cornea) protocol: clinical and patient-reported outcomes of Ultra-Thin Descemet Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty (UT-DSAEK) versus Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty (DMEK) - a multicentric, randomised, parallel group pragmatic trial in corneal endothelial decompensation.

Objectives: Corneal blindness is the third most frequent cause of blindness globally. Damage to the corneal endothelium is a leading indication for corneal transplantation, which is typically performed by lamellar endothelial keratoplasty. There are two conventional surgical techniques: Ultra-Thin Descemet Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty (UT-DSAEK) and Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty (DMEK).

The importance of the epithelial fibre cell interface to lens regeneration in an in vivo rat model and in a human bag-in-the-lens (BiL) sample.

Human lens regeneration and the Bag-in-the-Lens (BIL) surgical treatment for cataract both depend upon lens capsule closure for their success. Our studies suggest that the first three days after surgery are critical to their long-term outcomes. Using a rat model of lens regeneration, we evidenced lens epithelial cell (LEC) proliferation increased some 50 fold in the first day before rapidly declining to rates observed in the germinative zone of the contra-lateral, un-operated lens.

Pterygium Pathology: A Prospective Case-Control Study on Tear Film Cytokine Levels.

Pterygium is a common eye disease, linked to an increased exposure to UV radiation and dry environments. The associated pathology culminates in visual impairment and, in some rare cases, blindness. However, there remains a lot of uncertainty concerning the pathogenesis of this fibrovascular lesion.

Proteomic analysis of posterior capsular plaques in congenital unilateral cataract.

Purpose: To obtain insights on the protein composition of posterior capsular plaques (PCP) in congenital unilateral cataract with anterior vitreolenticular interface dysgenesis (AVLID).

Methods: Posterior capsular plaque's were collected during surgery in children presenting with congenital unilateral cataract. Surgeries were analysed focusing on the type of cataract, the integrity of the posterior capsule after peeling the PCP and the presence of vitreolenticular adherences when performing primary posterior capsulorhexis.

Xeno-Free Cultivation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells From the Corneal Stroma.

Purpose: The human cornea has recently been described as a source of corneal stroma-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). In vitro expansion of these cells involves basal medium supplemented with fetal bovine serum (FBS). As animal-derived serum can confer a risk of disease transmission and can be subject to considerable lot-to-lot variability, it does not comply with newer Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-required animal component-free culture protocols for clinical translation.