Abstract
Purpose :
This study examined the effect of plasma rich in growth factor treatment (PRGF), on subbasal nervous plexus innervation of patients diagnosed with dry eye disease (DED).
Methods :
A prospective, observational study was conducted analyzing 31eyes images of 31 patients with DED (22 women and 9 males) aged 53.4±8.5 years (range 36 to 71 years). Subjects underwent microscopy confocal in vivo (IVMC) before (bf) and after (af) 3 months of treatment with PRFG. At least 3 images of each eye were selected and the following subbasal central nervous plexus parameters were measured with ACC Metrics software: Corneal Nerve Fiber Density (CNFD), Corneal Nerve Branch Density (CNBD), Corneal Nerve Fiber Length (CNFL), Corneal Nerve Fiber Total Branch Density (CTBD), Corneal Nerve Fiber Area (CNFA), Corneal Nerve Fiber Width (CNFW) and Corneal Nerve Fractal Dimension (CNFrD). Data analysis was performed with SPSS® software for Windows 22.0 (SPSS® Inc, Chicago, IL.). The normality of the sample was checked with the Shapiro-Wilk test and the results were compared to the t test or the Wilcoxon test based on the distribution of the data. The differences were considered statistically significant for P<0.05
Results :
The mean and their standard deviations obtained for the variables analyzed were: CNFDbf: 17,854±1,311 and CNFDaf: 18,590±1,699 fibers/mm2, CNBDbf: 21,847±2,465 and CNBDaf: 24,591±3,310 branches/mm2, CNFLbf: 12,324±0,548 and CNFLaf: 12,828±0,789mm/mm2, CTBDbf: 37,728±3,428 and CTBDaf: 41,187±5,124 branches/mm2, CNFAbf: 0.00598±0.00277 and CNFAaf: 0.00596 ± 0.00332 mm2 by mm2, CNFWbf: 0.0223±0.0030 and CNFWaf: 0.0224±0.0029 mm2 by mm2, CNFrDaf: 1,471±0,006 and CNFrDbf: 1,463±0,02. Differences versus before and after treatment values were not statistically significant in all values analyzed.
Conclusions :
Nervous plexus parameters improved after treatment with PRGF, although without being statistically significant. Further studies should include a larger sample.
This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.