Immunomodulatory Therapy With Anti-IL-1 to Minimize Corneal Scar Formation After Injury in New Zealand White Rabbit
Purpose
To compare topical anti-Interleukin-1 (anti-IL-1) against steroid drops following photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) in rabbit eyes.
Methods
Forty-eight eyes of 24 rabbits were divided into five arms following PRK. Eyes were randomized to receive either 2.5mg, 1.25mg, or 0.25mg of anti-IL-1 therapy or fluoromethalone 0.1% qid suspended in BSS qid. Control eyes did not receive anti-IL-1 or fluoromethalone. All eyes received both Vigamox and Systane. Outcome measures included evaluation of subjective haze formation, objective haze formation (using the Pentacam), stromal thickness and stromal haze measurements (using a Heidelberg Retina Tomograph Confocal Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope (HRT)), time to corneal re-epithelization, and histological exam for foam layer thickness at post-op week 7.
Results
There was a trend for decreased haze in the subjective analysis for anti-IL1 at weeks 4 and 5 compared to the control and steroid groups. There was a trend for decreased haze at weeks 2 and 3 for anti-IL1 compared to the control group. There was also a trend for less haze in all metrics at almost every time point for the 2.5 mg anti-IL1 groups compared to the lesser amounts of anti-IL1.
Conclusion
Anti-IL-1 therapy may be an alternative to steroid treatment following PRK. 2.5 mg of anti-IL1 four times a day appears to be more effective at preventing haze than lesser amounts of drug. Further studies are needed to determine the efficacy and side effect profile of topical anti-IL-1 in human eyes.