Abstract
Purpose:
Corneal edema is a major undesirable issue of acute glaucoma, keratitis and after cataract surgery or corneal transplantation. Therapeutically, hyperosmolar eye drops like Omnisorb® (preserved) and OCUsalin® 5% UD are commonly used. The aim of this study was to establish an in vitro model of corneal edema as a basis for testing the efficiency of hyperosmolar eye drops on the corneal thickness.
Methods:
As an in-vitro model, rabbit corneas were cultured on an artificial anterior chamber with a constant flow of an aqueous humor supplement (Ex Vivo Eye Irritation Test (EVEIT) system). First, corneal edema was induced by hypoosmolar saline (0.3% NaCl/medium). Secondly, Omnisorb, Oculsalin® 5% and medium control (Minimal Essential Medium Eagle (MEM), HEPES buffer 5.8 g/l) were topically applied every 15 minutes over one hour. Corneal thickness was quantified by Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) before, while and after drug application. Metabolic activity was documented by photometric quantification of glucose/lactate in the outflow medium of the artificial anterior chamber.
Results:
Corneal thickness increased significantly from 450µm (+/- 50µm) up to 900-1000µm. Corneal edema was reduced from 832µm (+/- 123µm) to 514µm (+/- 64µm) for Omnisorb® and from 875µm (+/- 63µm) to 622µm (+/- 34µm) for OCUsalin® 5% UD, respectively. Medium application showed no impact on corneal thickness. Corneal glucose/lactate metabolism was stable during experiments.
Conclusions:
Here we present a simple method to model a corneal edema for therapeutic approaches. Corneal thickness was reduced equally by hyperosmolar Omnisorb® and OCUsalin® 5% UD medication. Experiments were without any impact on stability of corneal metabolism.
Keywords: 505 edema •
687 regeneration