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Antisense eye drops only or combined with fine needle diathermy could be used to regress corneal neovascularization in mice – study by UKK

Wei Zhang
In May 2024, the Restore Vision team participated in the annual meeting of The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) in Seattle, United States. At this prestigious event, Wei Zhang from our partner institution University of Cologne team presented key findings from their ongoing research on the project via a poster. Below is a summary of the study results shared during the conference. To view and download the full poster, visit our resources page.

Antisense eye drops only or combined with fine needle diathermy could be used to regress corneal neovascularization in mice

Corneal neovascularization is an eye disease that involves the abnormal growth of blood vessels (BVs) and lymphatic vessels (LVs) into the cornea. It affects the transparency of the cornea which is the clear ‘window’ at the front of the eye causing vision problems.

Corneal vascularization is a big risk for patients who have received a cornea transplant as the body can reject the new cornea. An eyedrop called Aganirsen and a surgical technique called “fine needle diathermy” could eventually help treat patients with this eye disease, since they show potential to help reduce the negative effects of both types of vessels.

Our team conducted a study to firstly evaluate whether the eyedrops and diathermy help reduce the growth of BVs and LVs, and also test whether the eyedrops are more effective alone. If the eyedrops are effective in achieving in reducing the abnormal growth of these vessels, this could mean patients do not have to go through painful or risky surgery or even corneal transplant at all.

In this study, abnormal growth of BVs and LVs were applied in mice. Aganirsen eyedrops were placed in the eyes of one group of mice and in the second group, both eyedrops and diathermy were administered. At the end of the study, corneal BVs and LVs in both groups of mice were evaluated to assess the effectiveness of both approaches.

The study demonstrated that the eyedrops were successful in reducing the problematic effects of the vessels alone and also in combination with diathermy. This positive outcome suggest that Aganirsen eyedrops may one day be used to reverse the effects of BVs and LVs in the corneas of human patients.

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