PURPOSE To present a case of corneal toxicity following exposure to milky plant latex from Asclepias tuberosa. METHODS A 70-year-old female presented with blurred vision and pain in her left eye after handling an Ascepias tuberosa. Clinical examination revealed a corneal stromal oedema with small epithelial defects. The corneal endothelium was intact and folds in Descemets membrane were obser...

PURPOSE To evaluate acute corneal epithelial toxicity induced by benzalkonium chloride (BAC) homologs with different alkyl chain lengths using an in vivo electrophysiological method. METHODS BAC homologs with C12, C14, and C16 alkyl chain lengths were used at concentrations of 0.0025%, 0.005%, and 0.01%, respectively. Cytotoxicity of BAC homologs on the normal rabbit corneal epithelial cells ...

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to examine the ophthalmic additives responsible for modulating acute corneal epithelial toxicity induced by benzalkonium chloride (BAC) and investigate the ability of polyoxyethylene hydrogenated castor oil 40 (HCO-40) and polysorbate 80 (PS-80) to reduce the corneal toxicity and antimicrobial effects of BAC. METHODS Cytotoxicity of the additives, which inclu...

In pharmaceutical companies and research institutes, many toxicity tests are performed with laboratory animals. This study was performed to produce reference data for eye toxicity tests and to investigate the ophthalmic diseases of 408 ICR mice and 119 BALB/c mice, which are commonly used as subjects in toxicity tests. The experimental animals without clinical disorders were selected regardless...

PURPOSE To determine the element that modulates benzalkonium chloride (BAC) toxicity by using a new electrophysiological method to evaluate acute corneal barrier dysfunction induced by travoprost Z with sofZia (Travatan Z(®)), travoprost with 0.015% BAC (Travatan(®)), and its additives. METHODS Corneal transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) was measured in live white Japanese rabbits by ...

Maintenance of corneal transparency is crucial for vision and depends mainly on the endothelium, a non-proliferative monolayer of cells covering the inner part of the cornea. When endothelial cell density falls below a critical threshold, the barrier and "pump" functions of the endothelium are compromised which results in corneal oedema and loss of visual acuity. The conventional treatment for ...