PURPOSES To describe corneal changes seen on in vivo confocal microscopy in patients with total limbal stem cell deficiency and to correlate them with cytological findings. METHODS A prospective case series including 13 eyes (8 patients) with total limbal deficiency was carried out. Stem cell deficiency was diagnosed clinically and by corneal impression cytology. Confocal images of the centra...

Parpose: Direct immunofluorescence (DIF) study on the conjunctiva is currently the classical diagnostic tool used fo the. diagnosis of autoimmune cicatrizing conjunctivitis, which is characterized by the deposition of immunoglobuliis and/or compleme:nt along the conjunctival basement membrane zone (BMZ). To diagnose the type of autoimmune conjunctivitis, we performed d&t immunoeleclron microsco...

Parpose: Direct immunofluorescence (DIF) study on the conjunctiva is currently the classical diagnostic tool used fo the. diagnosis of autoimmune cicatrizing conjunctivitis, which is characterized by the deposition of immunoglobuliis and/or compleme:nt along the conjunctival basement membrane zone (BMZ). To diagnose the type of autoimmune conjunctivitis, we performed d&t immunoeleclron microsco...

PURPOSE To investigate tolomerase activity and p53 expression in pterygial tissue. METHODS Pterygia tissue was obtained during excisional surgery fr om 35 eyes of 35 patients, and superior bulbar conjunctival tissue from the same eye was also sampled as control when possible. Fluorescence telomeric repeat amplification protocol was used to measure telomerase activity in whole pterygium sample...

Parpose: Direct immunofluorescence (DIF) study on the conjunctiva is currently the classical diagnostic tool used fo the. diagnosis of autoimmune cicatrizing conjunctivitis, which is characterized by the deposition of immunoglobuliis and/or compleme:nt along the conjunctival basement membrane zone (BMZ). To diagnose the type of autoimmune conjunctivitis, we performed d&t immunoeleclron microsco...

Conjunctival melanoma is a rare and potentially deadly tumor. Therefore, adequate oncological resection essential, commonly leading to total orbital exenteration, which causes patients' extensive functional cosmetic impairment. As result, it essential reconstruct the region post-exenteration obliterate cavity, provide pliable cutaneous covering, restore stable vascularized tissue that can withs...

PURPOSE To gain a better understanding of the molecular events leading to the development of conjunctival melanocytic lesions and conjunctival melanoma, this study was conducted to investigate the presence of T1799A BRAF oncogenic mutation in these lesions. METHODS Forty-eight surgically excised conjunctival melanocytic lesions from 48 patients were examined for the presence of the BRAF T1799...

PURPOSE Conjunctival fibrosis due to excessive accumulation of collagens is an important histologic feature in ocular cicatricial pemphigoid (OCP). Studies have suggested a role of transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 in conjunctival fibrosis in patients with OCP. Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is an important downstream mediator of TGF-beta1-induced collagen synthesis. CTGF usually a...

The induction of the interferon mechanism in rabbit corneal, conjunctival, iris, and kidney tissue cultures with polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid complex protects against infections with herpes simplex virus. The degree of protection is inversely proportional to the viral challenge dose and is significantly enhanced by the addition of neomycin. The potential application of these observations to ...

PURPOSE To characterize the histological appearance and expression of pro-inflammatory mediators, growth factors, matrix metalloproteinases and biomarkers of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in healthy control and trachomatous trichiasis (TT) conjunctival tissue. METHODS Conjunctival biopsies were taken from 20 individuals with TT and from 16 individuals with healthy conjunctiva, which...