Healing Of Corneal Ulcers Research Articles

FIBRONECTIN: STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND SIGNIFICANCE IN WOUND HEALING

Several recent reports suggest a therapeutic role for topical application of autologous fibronectin in promoting healing of chronic skin and corneal ulcers. Fibronectin assists in wound healing by contributing to haemostasis, assisting in control of infection and debridement of wounds, and promoting re-epithelialisation, granulation tissue and ultimately a connective tissue of adequate tensile strength to repair the skin defect. The potential for fibronectin to be a therapeutic adjunct demands a close understanding of its structural and functional properties, and such knowledge, particularly emerging from research reported in the last five years, is reviewed.

Spontaneous canine keratoconjunctivitis sicca. A useful model for human keratoconjunctivitis sicca: treatment with cyclosporine eye drops.

Thirty-six sequential cases of canine keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) were treated with ophthalmic cyclosporine. The effects of topical cyclosporine were twofold: (1) cyclosporine increased tear production by 5 mm/min or greater in all cases of spontaneous KCS having an initial Schirmer's Tear Test value greater than 2 mm/min and in 59% of eyes with an initial Schirmer's Tear Test value of 0 to 2 mm/min, and (2) cyclosporine caused marked regression of chronic corneal neovascularization and granulation even in eyes in which lacrimation failed to improve. Additional benefits of topical cyclosporine were reduced mucopurulent conjunctivitis, rapid healing of nonhealing corneal ulcers, and reduced dependence on frequent topical treatments of KCS. Twelve normal beagles treated with topical cyclosporine also had a reversible increase in lacrimation compared with baseline or placebo control-treated dogs.

Hydrophilic contact lenses in corneal disease. I. Superficial, sterile, indolent ulcers.

Patients having a superficial, sterile, indolent corneal ulcer which failed to respond to conventional therapeutic modalities were fitted with a hydrophilic contact lens. The corneal epithelium was removed prior to lens fitting, and the lens remained in place for one week. In the series of patients described, the hydrophilic contact lens proved to be an extremely useful adjunct in promoting the healing of indolent corneal ulcers. The possible mechanisms by which this effect is accomplished are discussed.

Influence of corticotropin (ACTH) on healing of corneal ulcers in guinea pigs. Comparison of effects of corticotropin and pyrogen.

The beneficial effect of fever therapy in certain diseased states of the eye is relatively undisputed and attested to by the frequent employment of this therapy in the past. In recent years, however, the use of pyrogens has declined because in many conditions for which fever therapy formerly was indicated newer therapeutics, particularly antibiotics and steroids, are believed more effective. At present the status of fever therapy in ocular therapeutics is not clear. No agreement exists with regard to the present-day indications for pyrogens (a) as the main therapeutic agent or (b) as a therapeutic adjunct. As a contribution toward clarification of this field I and my associate1recently reported an experiment concerning the effect of a bacterial pyrogen on the healing of artificially induced corneal ulcers in guinea pigs. Standardized thermal injuries were produced in 2 groups of animals, involving approximately 70 eyes in each group. One group

Influence of pyrogen on healing of corneal ulcers. Experiment on guinea pigs.

The popularity of nonspecific stimulation as a therapeutic measure of broad applicability in ophthalmology declined with the advent of antibiotics, and especially of steroid When in 1917 Wagner-Jauregg introduced inoculation with malaria for the treatment of general paresis 1 his success supported a rising interest in fever therapy. Since the twenties injections of pyrogens were in general use for numerous diseased states. The concept developed that pyrogens by nonspecific stimulation intensified the processes of defense and reparative inflammation, and that fever, even though it was the outstanding clinical sign, was not the cause of the therapeutic effect. 2-4 Pyrogens became widely used in ophthalmology, the rationale being that a diseased eye, because it was an organ of small dimensions, was not capable of exciting the whole body to alert its defense mechanisms, but that the latter could be accomplished by nonspecific stimulation. While the validity of this hypothesis is

Role of Nicotinic Acid in Healing of Corneal Ulcers

Role of Nicotinic Acid in Healing of Corneal Ulcers

Role of vitamin A in the healing of corneal ulcers.

Role of vitamin A in the healing of corneal ulcers.

Influence of ascorbic acid on the healing of corneal ulcers in man.

Influence of ascorbic acid on the healing of corneal ulcers in man.

Some Uses of the Slit Lamp

The observations here recorded refer to the discrimination between the persistent pupillary membrane and thread like posterior synechia; pigment deposits on anterior capsule of the lens; folds in the capsule; the healing of corneal ulcer; the appearance of vessels in interstitial keratitis; certain lesions of the iris; and special appearances of the lens and vitreous humor. Reported from the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Nebraska, Medical College.