Patients treated with a combination of topical bromfenac 0.09% and dexamethasone 0.1% had a lower risk for developing CSME after cataract surgery than patients treated with a single drug.

Diabetic patients who received a subconjunctival injection with triamcinolone acetonide at the end of cataract surgery had a lower macular thickness and macular volume at 6 and 12 weeks postoperatively than patients who did not. Intravitreal bevacizumab had no significant effect.

Purpose. To investigate the efficacy of recombinant human collagen type I (RHC I) and collagen-like peptide (CLP) hydrogels as alternative carrier substrates for the cultivation of limbal epithelial stem cells (LESC) under xeno-free culture conditions. Methods. Human LESC were cultivated on seven different collagen-derived hydrogels: (1) unmodified RHC I, (2) fibronectin-patterned RHC I, (3) carbodiimide-crosslinked CLP (CLP-12 EDC), (4) DMTMM- (4-(4,6-dimethoxy-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)-4-methyl-morpholinium-) crosslinked CLP (CLP-12), (5) fibronectin-patterned CLP-12, (6) “3D limbal niche-mimicking” CLP-12, and (7) DMTMM-crosslinked CLP made from higher CLP concentration solution. Cell proliferation, cell morphology, and expression of LESC markers were analyzed. All data were compared to cultures on human amniotic membrane (HAM). Results. Human LESC were successfully cultivated on six out of seven hydrogel formulations, with primary cell cultures on CLP-12 EDC being deemed unsuccessful since the area of outgrowth did not meet quality standards (i.e., inconsistence in outgrowth and confluence) after 14 days of culture. Upon confluence, primary LESC showed high expression of the stem cell marker ΔNp63, proliferation marker cytokeratin (KRT) 14, adhesion markers integrin-β4 and E-cadherin, and LESC-specific extracellular matrix proteins laminin-α1, and collagen type IV. Cells showed low expression of differentiation markers KRT3 and desmoglein 3 (DSG3). Significantly higher gene expression of KRT3 was observed for cells cultured on CLP hydrogels compared to RHC I and HAM. Surface patterning of hydrogels influenced the pattern of proliferation but had no significant effect on the phenotype or genotype of cultures. Overall, the performance of RHC I and DMTMM-crosslinked CLP hydrogels was equivalent to that of HAM. Conclusion. RHC I and DMTMM-crosslinked CLP hydrogels, irrespective of surface modification, support successful cultivation of primary human LESC using a xeno-free cultivation protocol. The regenerated epithelium maintained similar characteristics to HAM-based cultures.

Myopia, diabetes and aging are the main causes of progressive vitreous collagen aggregation, resulting in vitreous opacities which can significantly disturb vision. As vitreous opacities, which induce the visual phenomenon of 'floaters', are accessible with nanomaterials and light, we propose a nanotechnology-based approach to locally ablate them with highly reduced light energy compared to the more traditional YAG laser therapy. Our strategy relies on the plasmon properties of gold nanoparticles that generate vapor nanobubbles upon pulsed-laser illumination whose mechanical force can ablate vitreous opacities. We designed gold nanoparticles coated with hyaluronic acid which have excellent diffusional mobility in human vitreous, an essential requirement to reach the vitreous opacities. In addition, we found that HA-coated gold nanoparticles can accumulate extensively on human vitreous opacities which were obtained by vitrectomy from patients with vision degrading myodesopsia. When subsequently applying 2 nanosecond laser pulses, the collagen aggregates were efficiently destroyed with ~1000 times less light energy as typically used in YAG laser therapy. This low energy 'floater-specific destruction', which is due to the accumulation of the small gold nanoparticles on the opacities, is attractive as it may be safer to the surrounding ocular tissues while at the same time being easier and faster to apply compared to YAG laser therapy where the opacities need to be ablated piece by piece by a tightly focused laser beam. Gold nanoparticle assisted photo-ablation may therefore provide a safer, faster and more reliable destruction of vitreous opacities in the treatment of ophthalmologic diseases.