Foldable capsular vitreous body implantation for treatment of traumatic retinal detachment: two case reports.

Retinal detachment caused by severe ocular trauma is a type of refractory vitreoretinal disease. Current treatment methods include vitrectomy combined with silicone oil tamponade. However, long-term use of silicone oil tamponade has various complications, including a risk of silicone oil dependence that eventually leads to eyeball atrophy and enucleation. Foldable capsular vitreous bodies (FCVBs) offer a good solution for these problems. However, FCVBs have not been used in large-scale clinical applications and few cases have been reported in the published literature. The main use of FCVBs, based on current evidence, is in the treatment of the relatively few (but important) patients whose eyes have no visual potential; the aim of treatment in these patients is globe preservation, rather than restoration of vision. Here, we describe two patients who underwent FCVB implantation. The findings in these patients indicated that FCVBs can effectively support the vitreous cavity and detached retina. FCVB implantation may thus offer a safe and effective method for treatment of severe retinal detachment, avoiding the inconvenience caused by silicone oil dependence and enucleation. To confirm its long-term usefulness in clinical applications, many additional case reports are needed.

Personalised lamellar keratoplasty and keratopigmentation in Asian corneal leucoma patients.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a personalised lamellar keratoplasty (LK) associated with the keratopigmentation (KTP) technique for corneal leucoma among Asian patients. METHODS: This report was a non-randomised, retrospective clinical study performed in 32 consecutive eyes of 32 patients to improve cosmetic appearance. Twenty-two patients underwent LK combined with KTP, either by intralamellar or superficial route. Ten patients underwent the single personalised keratopigmentation method. The subjective and objective cosmetic results, ocular irritation, colour fading, neovascularisation formation and incidence of immune rejection were evaluated until three years after surgery. RESULTS: No complications occurred, and the corneal leucoma was successfully stained with India ink in all 32 patients. Most of the patients showed good cosmetic appearance. Pain, conjunctival congestion, corneal edema and foreign body sensation disappeared gradually within two to three weeks after surgery in all patients. Graft swelling, non-healing, or detaching was not observed during follow-up. However, two patients had slight opacity three years after LK. Colour fading was observed in one patient who underwent intralamellar corneal staining 10 months after surgery. Re-staining was performed. CONCLUSION: KTP combined with personalised LK is an effective personalised technique that presents long-standing colour staining and good cosmetic efficacy.

Regulation of functional corneal endothelial cells isolated from sphere colonies by Rho-associated protein kinase inhibitor.

Human corneal endothelial cells (HCECs) form a monolayer covering the inner side of the cornea. Since HCECs have lower mitotic activity after birth, damage or disease of HCECs will lead to failure of cellular pump functions and inevitably to corneal stroma oedema and loss of vision. Ex vivo cultured HCEC transplantation is the most promising therapy used to avoid donor tissue shortages. However, proliferation of functional adult HCECs is difficult to achieve using standard cell culture techniques. In this study, we isolated sphere colonies from HCECs, which were characterised as HCEC precursor cells. HCECs from these spheres were incubated with the Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) inhibitor Y-27632 (30 µM for 1 h at 37°C) to observe cell pump functions and the levels of several cell markers. Cells from the spheres were immunostained positive for nestin (a marker of immature cells) and for an immature neuronal marker (ß3-tubulin). There were no significant differences in the expression of genes associated with cell adhesion or ion transport channels, between the cells with or without Y-27632. However, immunostaining revealed a higher density of Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase in cell nuclei from HCECs (sphere-forming) and HCECs (sphere-forming/Y-27632) than normal HCECs. There was a higher resting potential difference and resting short circuit in the HCEC (sphere-forming) and HCEC (sphere-forming/Y-27632) cell lines, compared with normal HCECs. In this study, we successfully cultured functional HCEC cell lines, which possessed several important characteristics required to maintain the transparency and refractive parameters of the human cornea. These included hexagonal cell morphology, higher cell adhesion and proliferation ability, HCEC pump function and positive expression of several cell adhesion markers.

[Experimental study on inhibition of retinal neovascularisation by gene transfer of extracellular 1-3 domain of VEGF receptor KDR].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of liposome mediated plasmids KDRn3 injected into the vitreous to inhibit experimental retinal neovascularization. METHODS: One-week-old C57BL/6N mice were exposed to 75% ± 2% oxygen for 5 days, then returned to the room air to induce retinal neovascularization. Cationic liposome mediated KDRn3 comp-lex (1 µl) was injected into the vitreous in the treatment group. PBS 1µl or liposome were injected in the control group. The pEGFP-N1/KDRn3 expression was observed by using fluorescence microscope. Retinal neovascularization was evaluated by counting the number of vascular endothelial cell nuclei on the vitreal side of the inner limiting membrane of the retina and measuring the areas of non-perfusions in central retina. RESULTS: KDRn3 protein was expressed both in the ganglion layer and in the inner layer. Retinal wholemount preparation of retinal neovascular animal model showed that prominent neovascular tuft and fluorescein leakage and large areas of non-perfusions in central retina. Fewer neovascular tufts and fewer areas of non-perfusions could be seen after pEGFP-N1/KDRn3 injection. There were statistic differences between control group and pEGFP-N1/KDRn3 injecting group with the number of vascular endothelial cell nuclei on the vitreal side of the inner limiting membrane of the retina (0.20 ± 0.51, 13.58 ± 2.48, 23.05 ± 3.40, 21.70 ± 2.89; F = 1085.25, P < 0.05) and the areas of non-perfusions in central retina [(1.33 ± 0.49), (2.75 ± 0.70), (2.12 ± 0.35) mm(2); F = 17.61, P < 0.01]. CONCLUSION: pEGFP-N1/KDRn3 gene transfer can inhibit retinal neovascularisation in C57Bl/6J mice of ischaemia-induced retinal neovascularisation on some extent.