Short-term impact of corticosteroids on hyaluronan and epithelial hyperplasia in the rabbit cornea after photorefractive keratectomy
Abstract
To investigate the impact of corticosteroids on subepithelial hyaluronan deposition and corneal epithelium thickness in the first 10 days after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and to analyze a possible contralateral effect of corticosteroids. Thirty-two New Zealand white rabbits were assigned into two groups and had a transepithelial 5.0-mm diameter, 8.00-diopter myopic PRK performed on one eye. The corticosteroid treatment group (16 animals) received 0.1 mL of methylprednisolone 4% subconjunctivally on the operation table, followed by 0.1% dexamethasone eye drops six times a day during the postoperative period. The sodium chloride (NaCl) treatment group received topical isotonic NaCl eye drops six times a day. In each treatment group, eight animals were killed after 3 and 9 days, respectively. The harvested specimens were stained for hyaluronan and the epithelial thickness was measured. In contrast to the epithelial thickness, the subepithelial hyaluronan did not show a significant increase during the observation period. The corticosteroid treated group showed at both time-points significantly less subepithelial hyaluronan formation as well as a significantly thinner epithelium, when compared with the NaCl-treated group. At ...Continue Reading
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