Amniotic membrane transplantation: indications and results.

PURPOSE: To describe amniotic membrane transplantation indications and results at the authors' institution. METHODS: In this study, chart review of 108 patients who underwent amniotic membrane transplantation between January 2002 and April 2006 was performed. The survival rate of corneal integrity was compared, using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, as a measure of success rate. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 55.2+/-20.1 (6-87 years, 75 female, 51 male). The patients underwent amniotic membrane transplantation for six different diagnoses: nontraumatic corneal perforation (32 eyes, Group 1), persistent epithelial defect (29 eyes, Group 2), aphakic/pseudophakic bullous keratopathy (18 eyes, Group 3), infectious ulcer resistant to treatment (14 eyes, Group 4), necrotizing keratitis secondary to endophthalmitis (10 eyes, Group 5), and caustic injury (5 eyes, Group 6). The mean survival of corneal integrity was similar in all groups (p=0.156). CONCLUSIONS: Amniotic membrane transplantation is a successful adjunctive method in achieving corneal epithelization in the study indications.

Chitosan-coated alginate membranes for cultivation of limbal epithelial cells to use in the restoration of damaged corneal surfaces.

Some chemicals or thermal burns may result in abnormal reepithelialization by conjunctival epithelial cells and it causes different types of damage on the cornea surface. When reepithelialization does not occur, chronic inflammation and neovascularization develop, often leading to stroma scarring and/or ulceration. The aim of this study is to restore the human corneal surface with autologous corneal epithelial sheets generated by serial cultivation of the limbal epithelial cells over the different compositions of composite membranes. The composite membranes were prepared by coating the alginate membrane with chitosan. In this method, alginate membrane was prepared by precipitation of the sodium alginate solution in calcium chloride solution. Alginate membranes were washed, dried and immersed into the chitosan solutions to prepare composite membranes. The composite membranes were characterized based on their morphology, hydrophilicity, swellability, and chemical structure. In the last part of the study, composite membranes were used as base matrices for limbal epithelial cell cultivation. The cell cultivation on polymeric membranes was investigated as the in vitro studies. In these studies cell attachment, spreading and growth on polymeric membranes were evaluated.

Conjunctival impression cytology and tear-film changes in patients with psoriasis.

PURPOSE: In this study, we evaluated ocular-surface changes and tear-film functions in patients with plaque-type psoriasis. METHODS: This study was performed on two groups. Group I included 100 eyes of 50 subjects with chronic plaque-type psoriasis whose diagnoses were confirmed with skin biopsy. Group II included 100 eyes of 50 healthy volunteers who were in the same age and sex distribution. Ocular-surface changes were evaluated on the cell content of the surface conjunctival epithelium by conjunctival impression cytology and tear-film functions by the Schirmer I test and break-up time (BUT). RESULTS: Of the patients with psoriasis, 50% had a grade 0, 30% had a grade I, and 20% had a grade II conjunctival impression cytology differentiation compared with 95, 3, and 2%, respectively in the control group (p < 0.001). Snake-like appearance of nuclear chromatin in conjunctival epithelial cells was demonstrated in 12% of eyes in group I but in 2% of eyes in group II. The Schirmer's test results showed that average values were 10.1 +/- 5.8 mm in group I and 12.6 +/- 5.5 mm in group II (p > 0.001). The mean break-up time was 7.8 +/- 3.7 s in group I and 12.5 +/- 4.6 s in group II (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: We showed the early conjunctival changes in patients with psoriasis. According to these results, primary etiologic factors may contribute to ocular lesions in psoriasis.