Transparency of the cornea, the window of the eye, is a prerequisite for vision. Angiogenesis into the normally avascular cornea is incompatible with good vision and, therefore, the cornea is one of the few tissues in the human body where avascularity is actively maintained. Here, we provide evidence for a critical mechanism contributing to corneal avascularity. VEGF receptor 3, normally present on lymphatic and proliferating blood vascular endothelium, is strongly constitutively expressed by corneal epithelium and is mechanistically responsible for suppressing inflammatory corneal angiogenesis.angiogenesis ͉ cornea ͉ lymphatics ͉ inflammation

To study the efficacy of topical application of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and linoleic acid (LA) for dry eye treatment.Methods: Formulations containing ALA, LA, combined ALA and LA, or vehicle alone, were applied to dry eyes induced in mice. Corneal fluorescein staining and the number and maturation of corneal CD11b ϩ cells were determined by a masked observer in the different treatment groups. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to quantify expression of inflammatory cytokines in the cornea and conjunctiva.Results: Dry eye induction significantly increased corneal fluorescein staining; CD11b ϩ cell number and major histocompatibility complex Class II expression; corneal IL-1␣ and tumor necrosis factor ␣ (TNF-␣) expression; and conjunctival IL-1␣, TNF-␣, interferon ␥, IL-2, IL-6, and IL-10 expression. Treatment with ALA significantly decreased corneal fluorescein staining compared with both vehicle and untreated controls. Additionally, ALA treatment was associated with a significant decrease in CD11b ϩ cell number, expression of corneal IL-1␣ and TNF-␣, and conjunctival TNF-␣.Conclusions: Topical ALA treatment led to a significant decrease in dry eye signs and inflammatory changes at both cellular and molecular levels.Clinical Relevance: Topical application of ALA omega-3 fatty acid may be a novel therapy to treat the clinical signs and inflammatory changes accompanying dry eye syndrome.

This study indicates that exposure of normal mice to a low-humidity environment in a CEC can lead to significant alterations in tear secretion, goblet cell density, and acquisition of dry eye-related ocular surface signs.

Cataract surgery in a patient with uveitis is more complex than senile cataract extraction, because it involves multiple considerations related to the cause of uveitis, prospects of visual rehabilitation, appropriate surgical timing and technique, and the type and material of the intraocular lens used. Establishing the diagnosis, thorough eye examination, careful patient selection and meticulous control of perioperative inflammation are key elements to a successful visual outcome. Our aims in this article are to review the literature on this subject over the past year and highlight the behavior of intraocular lenses of various biomaterials in the uveitic eye. In addition, we also reemphasize the idea of a model of zero tolerance to intraocular inflammation to minimize the incidence of irreversible damage to ocular structures essential to good vision.