Efficacy and safety of treatment of hyposecretory dry eye with platelet-rich plasma.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate and compare the symptomatology and clinical findings in hyposecretory dry eye of the treatment with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and artificial tears of sodium hyaluronate (SH). METHODS: Blind single-centre prospective comparative randomized study including 83 patients with hyposecretory dry eye and mean age of 64.0 years. Two groups were differentiated depending on the treatment applied: 44 patients treated with PRP (PRP group), and 39 patients treated with artificial tears of SH (SH group). Changes in Schimer test, tear osmolarity, corneal and conjunctival staining, tear film break-up time (TF-BUT), conjunctival hyperaemia, dry eye-related symptoms with the Ocular Surface Disease Index questionnaire, and caliciform cell density were evaluated during 30 days of treatment. RESULTS: Significantly larger reduction in symptomatology (p < 0.001), visual improvement (p < 0.001), reduction in hyperaemia (p < 0.001), and corneal and conjunctival staining (p < 0.001), increment of Schirmer test outcome (p ≤ 0.005), and reduction of osmolarity were found in the PRP group in both eyes compared to SH group at 15 and 30 days of treatment. Likewise, a significantly higher increment of caliciform cell density (p < 0.001) was found in the PRP group. Strong and statistically significant correlations were found in the PRP group of the change achieved in visual acuity, hyperaemia, osmolarity, and conjunctival and corneal staining with the baseline values of these variables (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: PRP treatment in hyposecretory dry eye induces a more significant positive effect over symptomatology and different dry eye signs than SH, especially in moderate and severe cases.

Future design of a new keratoprosthesis. Physical and biological analysis of polymeric substrates for epithelial cell growth.

One of the main issues in the development of new biocolonizable materials is to understand the influence of the synthetic material on the biological response in terms of cellular adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. In this study, we characterized different polymeric materials (with different hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity ratios and electrical charges) using dynamic-mechanical analysis, equilibrium water content, and surface energy. Cell adhesion, viability, morphology, and proliferation studies were conducted with these materials using a conjunctival epithelial cell line (IOBA-NHC). The biological data regarding physicochemical parameters of the materials were also correlated. When conjunctival epithelial cells were grown on poly(ethyl acrylate-co-hydroxyethyl acrylate) copolymers, P(EA-co-HEA), samples with up to 20% hydrophilic groups on their polymeric chain showed adhesion, viability, and proliferation, although these three factors decreased as the hydrophilic group content increased. The poly(ethyl acrylate-co-methacrylic acid) 90/10 copolymer, P(EA-co-MAAc) 90/10, showed better results than poly(ethyl acrylate-co-hydroxyethyl acrylate) copolymers and were even better than tissue control polystyrene (TCPS). This feature is explained by the presence of electrical charges on the surface of the poly(ethyl acrylate-co-methacrylic acid) 90/10 copolymer. The fact that the ionic groups are configured in domains structured in nanophases as happens in this copolymer improves cell adhesion even further.