Abstract
Purpose To investigate the effect of artificial tear (AT) solution and epidermal growth factor (EGF) treatment on the cornea and aqueous humour ascorbic acid (AA) levels of full-thickness corneal wounded eyes.
Methods The effect of EGF on the AA levels of aqueous humour and corneal wound tissue was determined in full-thickness corneal wounded rabbit eyes on the seventh postoperative day. There were three groups: untreated controls, AT-treated controls and an EGF+AT-treated experimental group (n = 6 in each group). Corneal wounded eyes were topically treated with 5 µl AT or 5 µl EGF in AT (1 mg/1 EGF in AT prepaaration which contained 3.0% carbopol 940) twice daily for 6 days after operation. The wound strengths were also measured on the seventh postoperative day as a measure of wound healing. Statistical analysis was carried out using the Mann-Whitney U-test by Statview program.
Results The wound strengths of corneas, and AA levels of wound tissues and aqueous humour, increased significantly following AT and EGF treatment (p < 0.05).
Conclusion In the corneal wounded eye, aqueous humour serves as a source of vitamin C and there may be a relation between EGF treatment in AT and AA levels of corneal wounded eye tissues.
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Preliminary results previously presented at the Eighth Biennial Meeting of the International Society for Free Radical Research, Barcelona, Spain, 1996
Supported in part by Gazi University Research Foundation
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Gönül, B., Kaplan, B., Bilgihan, K. et al. Effects of epidermal growth factor in artificial tear on vitamin C levels of corneal wounded eye tissues. Eye 15, 213–216 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/eye.2001.64
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/eye.2001.64