The long term objectives of this competing renew are: 1. To study the preservation of epithelium and stroma in present storage media. There is no information on the persistance of epithelium in stored donor corneas nor on the viability of the stroma. M-K medium and now K-Sol are available for storing cornea donor tissue, but neither solution is ideal. Epithelim is lost especially with long term K-sol storage, and ways will be studied to preserve epithelium especially for patients such as chemical burn patients for which it is essential. 2. To assess and imporve stored corneal tissue and to alter medium if necessary to provide superior tissue. We will analyze media in which corneas have been stored for release of free fatty acids, or depletion of other substances with the idea that anti- oxidants could be added to the medium or other glycosaminoglycans could be added to produce a better storage medium. NMR will be employed to study the medium as an assay for biochemical health and metabolic flux of the stored cornea. 3. To improve antibiotic and antifungal components of M-K medium and K-Sol. We will study some of the new quionlone antibiotics such as Norfloxacin alone and in combinations wand also study antifungal agents. They will be studied for effect in the storage media and their toxicity will be assessed by electron mciroscopic evaluation as well as function when transplated into animals. 4. To investigate growth factors as a means of improving corneal wound healing. We will determine how long EGF remains in corneas that have been stored in an EGF-enriched medium, and what effect there is on the healing of the endothelium, stroma and epithelium when tissue is transplanted into animals. This will also include a trial of human EGF in a clinical trial in patients who have epithelial defects or epikeratophakia surgery. This will be a placebo controlled, double blind trial. 5. To evaluate the preservation of tissue for refractive surgery. This tissue may be more difficult to preserve because it is not intact like the whole corneas used for keratoplasty. The same techniques used to study whole corneas will be repeated for this ground tissue and adjustments made as necessary to the storage medium.
| Gebhardt, B M; Hodkin, M; Varnell, E D et al. (1999) Protection of corneal allografts by CTLA4-Ig. Cornea 18:314-20 |
| Chiou, A G; Kaufman, S C; Beuerman, R W et al. (1999) Confocal microscopy in posterior polymorphous corneal dystrophy. Ophthalmologica 213:211-3 |
| Chiou, A G; Beuerman, R W; Kaufman, S C et al. (1999) Confocal microscopy in lattice corneal dystrophy. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 237:697-701 |
| Chiou, A G; Kaufman, S C; Kaz, K et al. (1999) Characterization of epithelial downgrowth by confocal microscopy. J Cataract Refract Surg 25:1172-4 |
| Chiou, A G; Kaufman, S C; Beuerman, R W et al. (1999) A confocal microscopic study of advancing wavelike epitheliopathy. Arch Ophthalmol 117:126-7 |
| Chiou, A G; Kaufman, S C; Beuerman, R W et al. (1999) Differential diagnosis of linear corneal images on confocal microscopy. Cornea 18:63-6 |
| Bovelle, R; Kaufman, S C; Thompson, H W et al. (1999) Corneal thickness measurements with the Topcon SP-2000P specular microscope and an ultrasound pachymeter. Arch Ophthalmol 117:868-70 |
| Chiou, A G; Kaufman, S C; Beuerman, R W et al. (1999) Confocal microscopy in cornea guttata and Fuchs' endothelial dystrophy. Br J Ophthalmol 83:185-9 |
| Chiou, A G; Kaufman, S C; Beuerman, R W et al. (1999) Confocal microscopy in the iridocorneal endothelial syndrome. Br J Ophthalmol 83:697-702 |
| Chiou, A G; Chang, C; Kaufman, S C et al. (1998) Characterization of fibrous retrocorneal membrane by confocal microscopy. Cornea 17:669-71 |
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