ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE@#To study the relationship between the postmortem interval (PMI) and the changes of DNA content in rabbit's cornea epithelial and endothelium.@*METHODS@#Using the computerized image analysis to measure the DNA content in the cornea epithelial and endothelium of 105 rabbit's at every six hours during 72 hours after death.@*RESULTS@#The degradation rate of DNA in nuclear has an apparent relationship in 72 hours after death of the rabbits.@*CONCLUSION@#The determination of the quantity of DNA in cornea nuclear is a new method to estimate the PMI accurately.
Subject(s)
Animals , Female , Male , Rabbits , DNA/analysis , Endothelium, Corneal/chemistry , Epithelium, Corneal/chemistry , Forensic Medicine , Postmortem Changes , Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted , Time FactorsABSTRACT
Design: It was carried out a prospective, masked and experimental study. Objectives: to detect possible modifications of the corneal endothelium at different times after subconjunctival injection of Ganciclovir into rabbit eyes. Method: The study was conducted on 24 eyes of 12 rabbits which received 8 mg Ganciclovir diluted in 0.16 ml distilled water by the subconjunctival route in one eye (selected at random) and 0.16 ml distilled water in the control eye. Specular microscopy of the cornea was performed in enucleated eyes; the corneal egdothelium was analyzed inside the preserving medium with the magnification of 250 times. The endothelial images were observed in the monitor of a PC (250X) and in the ocular lenses of the slit lamp (40X) simultaneously. Results: Subconjunctival injection of 8mg DHPG seems not to be toxic to corneal endothelium of rabbits in a period of 48 hours, and the alterations observed after 72 hours were similar in control and treated eyes. Conclusion: Subconjunctival injection of 8mg DHPG was not toxic to corneal endothelium of rabbits in a period of 48 hours