Bi-weekly Subconjunctival Injection of Bevacizumab for Corneal Neovascularization after Burn Injury

Purpose: We report two cases of corneal neovascularization (NV) after burn injury successfully treated by subconjunctival bevacizumab injections at 2-week intervals.Case summary: Three bi-weekly subconjunctival injections of bevacizumab were administered to two patients with corneal NV after burn injury. In our first patient, corneal NV was markedly reduced by bevacizumab injection. The patient exhibited with a clear cornea and improved visual acuity (20/30) after treatment. Eleven weeks after the last injection, the cornea remained clear, with clinical regression of smaller vessels; the improvement in visual acuity was maintained. In the second case, the diameter of the vessels, hemorrhagic lesions, and corneal edema decreased/regressed, with improvement of the visual acuity to 20/25; these improvements persisted for 12 weeks after the last subconjunctival injection.Conclusions: Our results suggest that bi-weekly subconjunctival injection of bevacizumab is well-tolerated and effective for inhibiting chronic corneal NV after burn injury.

Topical Vitamin C Promotes the Recovery of Corneal Alkali Burns in Mice

Background. Vitamin C (Vc) has been found to promote corneal wound healing after alkali burns. However, the specific mechanism and functional modes are still unclear. The present study sought to assess the mechanisms of Vc function on corneal alkali burns. Methods. Eighty BALB/c mice were divided into four groups: a normal group without alkali injury (n = 10), an alkali injury group without any treatment (1-day group, n = 10), a Vc group treated with topical 10% Vc (Vc group, n = 30), and a control group treated with topical sterile water (control group, n = 30). Except in the blank control group, the alkali injuries were induced in one eye of each mouse. The mice in the treatment group were given Vc by topical application (q 1 h for 6 days), while those in the control group were given topical sterile water. The clinical evaluations, including corneal fluorescent staining, corneal opacity, and neovascularization, were assessed on days 1, 4, 7, and 10 using slit-lamp microscopy. Ten mice at each time point were sacrificed. The protein expressions in the corneas of p63, PCNA, CK3, MPO, CD31, and α-SMA were detected by immunohistochemistry to examine the corneal epithelial stem cells, corneal epithelium wound healing, corneal stroma inflammation, neovascularization, and fibrosis. Results. The scores of the corneal epithelium defects, corneal neovascularization, and corneal opacities in the Vc group were significantly decreased compared to the control group on day 10. We found that Vc promoted the activation of the corneal epithelial stem cells as shown by a higher number of p63-positive and PCNA-positive cells and an increased CK3 expression when compared with the control group p < 0.001 . The central corneal re-epithelialization was completed by day 10. Moreover, Vc inhibited MPO, CD31, and α-SMA expressions. These results first indicated that the frequent use of topical Vc in the first 6 days of corneal alkali burns alleviated corneal inflammatory cell infiltration, activated corneal epithelial stem cell activity, and reduced corneal neovascularization and fibrosis within 10 days. Conclusions. The study, therefore, showed the therapeutic benefits of Vc on corneal alkali burns and provided new insight into the mechanisms of Vc regulation on corneal wound healing.

Optimization of Diagnosis and Surgical Treatment of Involutional Entropion of the Lower Eyelid

Background: Rolling inwards of the lid margin is called entropion, and is produced by a disparity in length and tone between the anterior skin muscle, and posterior tarso-conjunctival laminae of the eyelid. Involutional, cicatricial, spastic, or congenital are some of the classifications involutional entropion there is general instability of the lid structures with age .A weakness of the posterior retractors of the lid occurs, together with a laxity of the medial and lateral canthal ligaments, accompanied by a loss of posterior support ,as atrophy of the orbital fat leads to enophthalmos. The current treatment modalities for this condition are surgical in nature, although non-surgical temporary medical treatment are also used. It's a commonest types of eyelid asymmetry. Corneal and conjunctival damage may lead to abrasions, scarring, corneal thinning, or corneal neovascularization due to this misalignment. Unilateral or bilateral entropion is possible. Involutional entropion of lower eyelids are common, but cicatricial upper eyelids are common. Entropion of lower eyelid is a much more prevalent than entropion of the upper eyelid. Objective: The purpose is to review the scientific literature on diagnosis and surgical management of involutional entropion of the lower eyelid. Methodology: The data were collected from the various electronic data bases like google scholar, PubMed and various books. Conclusion: After reviewing the articles, we come to the conclusion that the signs and symptoms of involutional entropion are easily manageable by given treatment.

Inhibition of Neovascularization and Inflammation in a Mouse Model of Corneal Alkali Burns Using Cationic Liposomal Tacrolimus

Eye drops account for more than 90% of commercialized ophthalmic drugs. However, eye drops have certain shortcomings, such as short precorneal retention time and weak corneal penetration. The requirement of frequent instillation of eye drops also causes poor patient compliance, which may lead to further aggravation of the disease. We aimed to develop a cationic liposome formulation to increase the bioavailability of the therapeutic agent and solve the aforementioned problems. In the present study, we prepared cationic liposomal tacrolimus (FK506) with a surface potential of approximately +30 mV, which could bind to the negatively charged mucin layer of the ocular surface. Our results showed that the content of FK506 in the cornea was increased by 93.77, 120.30, 14.24, and 20.36 times at 5, 30, 60, and 90 min, respectively, in the FK506 liposome group (0.2 mg/ml) compared with the free drug group (0.2 mg/ml). Moreover, FITC-labeled FK506 liposomes significantly prolonged the ocular surface retention time to 50 min after a single dose. In addition, the results of the Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, live and dead cell assay, sodium fluorescein staining, and hematoxylin and eosin staining all indicated that FK506 liposomes had good biological compatibility in both human corneal epithelial cells and mouse eyeballs. Compared with the free drug at the same concentration, FK506 liposomes effectively inhibited vascular endothelial growth factor-induced green fluorescent protein-transduced human umbilical vein endothelial cell migration and tube formation in vitro. In a mouse corneal neovascularization model induced by alkali burns, FK506 liposomes (0.2 mg/ml) enhanced corneal epithelial recovery, inhibited corneal neovascularization, and reduced corneal inflammation, and its therapeutic effect was better than those of the commercial FK506 eye drops (1 mg/ml) and the free drug (0.2 mg/ml). Collectively, these results indicate that cationic FK506 liposomes could increase the efficacy of FK506 in the corneal neovascularization model. Therefore, cationic FK506 liposomes can be considered as a promising ocular drug delivery system.