Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0022568 (keratitis)
 5,133 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We report three patients with persistent epithelial defects in the context of neurotrophic keratopathy that healed while on treatment with topically applied, mouse-derived epidermal growth factor (m-EGF). The clinical course of these patients was striking and suggests that EGF may have a potential role in the treatment of persistent epithelial defects in subjects suffering from neurotrophic keratitis.
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PMID:Treatment of persistent epithelial defects in neurotrophic keratitis with epidermal growth factor: a preliminary open study. 150 60

We evaluated the epithelializing-promoting effect of a concentration of 0.005 mg/ml murine epidermal growth factor (mEGF), topically administered four times daily, on the herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) corneal ulcers of the rabbit eye. The severity of the herpetic lesions was evaluated clinically, after the time course of the severity of epithelial keratitis, conjunctivitis, iritis, and stromal disease, for 14 days. A histological assessment was performed in the middle and at the end of the follow-up. The stromal keratitis of the mEGF-treated group was significantly more severe than the keratitis exhibited by the placebo-treated rabbits (Y = X3 X2*X4; p = 0.0001). There were no significant differences in the degree of conjunctivitis, epithelial keratitis, iritis, and virus shedding between these groups. No evidence of a toxic effect of mEGF or placebo was found in the mock infected rabbit eyes. More studies, using different herpes virus strains and a broad range of murine and human EGF concentrations, are mandatory to ascertain the general significance of these results. Meanwhile, caution is recommended when using mEGF in the presence of an occult or manifest herpetic eye disease.
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PMID:Aggravation of herpetic stromal keratitis after murine epidermal grown factor topical application. 815 89

Numerous biologically active growth factors are secreted by the lacrimal gland and distributed via the tears over the ocular surface, where they affect cellular proliferation, migration, differentiation, and survival. The role of growth factors and their receptors in maintenance of tissue homeostasis and wound healing continues to be elucidated, and the effect of growth factor imbalances in ocular surface diseases is just beginning to be understood. For instance, in eyes with ocular surface diseases, including conjunctivitis, corneal erosion, keratitis, and corneal ulcers, epidermal growth factor release rates have been shown to be significantly lower than in normal eyes during reflex tearing. Future research into the mechanisms of dry eye disease will focus on reasons for decreased tear and growth factor production in the neuronal reflex loop or the acinar lacrimal gland cells. Animal models to test therapeutic approaches must be developed.
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PMID:Growth factors in the tear film: role in tissue maintenance, wound healing, and ocular pathology. 1766 Aug 96