Corneal Wound Healing

The ability of the cornea to heal and maintain its clarity has paramount importance in preserving the eyesight. In the ocular surface, a pathologic wound healing process, along with local inflammation and neovascularization, can induce failure in the functional recovery of the ocular surface tissues, which can lead to corneal blindness. In this in vivo model, central corneal wound is induced by a filter paper disc (6 mm in diameter) soaked with 1-heptanol in New Zealand white rabbits.

The disc is then removed, and the damaged corneal epithelium is washed gently with sterile saline. The epithelial defects are revealed with 5 µl of sodium fluorescein, and the ocular surface is photographed using cobalt blue light and yellow barrier filter, immediately after injury (t=0) and at 8, 24, 32, 48, 56 and 72 hours after injury. The stained area is measured by computerized planimetry with NIH Image (Image J software). Fluorescein staining revealed that the epithelial defect decreased along the time until wounds are completely closed. Topical ocular administration of new treatments could be applied in this model in order to evaluate their wound healing capacity or their lack of interference in normal corneal wound healing