New agent shows promise in treatment of corneal melting

A new matrix regenerating therapy preparation appears to restore the structural integrity to to corneas severely damaged by autoimmune diseases, said Ewa Mrukwa-Kominek MD,Katowice, Poland at the ESCRS/EuCornea Day in Istanbul. She presented a case study involving a 42-year-old man with Sjogren's syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis who had advanced dry eye syndrome which manifested as filamentous keratopathy in the right eye causing corneal melting and perforation, necessitating agent rating keratoplasty procedure.The patient’s left eye also had less advanced corneal melting. To avoid the need for a second keratoplasty in the right eye and a first keratoplasty in the left eye, the patient underwent topical treatment with the new matrix regenerating therapeutic agent once weekly for five weeks. The agent consists of large biopolymers that are protected from proteolysis and therefore allow the natural regenerative processes of the cornea to proceed unimpeded By the end of treatment corneal thickness increased and visual acuity improved from 0.015 to 0.1 in the right eye and from 0.2 to 0.3 in the left eye. “Despite the advances of ophthalmology, progressive corneal thinning, which may be secondary to systemic or local eye diseases, is difficult to treat and is often resistant to medication. A new agent that stops the progression of corneal thinning and enhances matrix regeneration appears to be potentially useful alternative non-invasive therapeutic approach to progressive corneal thinning,â€Dr Mrukwa-Kominek concluded.