Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Horse amniotic membrane may help stop new blood vessels in dog eye
By Villar, Tatiane et al.·Published in Open veterinary journal·2020·Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Evaluation of pigment epithelium-derived factor concentration in equine amniotic membrane homogenate and itsvascular endothelial growth factor inhibition effect in tears of dogs with vascularized ulcerative keratitis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with vascularized ulcerative keratitis (a type of eye ulcer) had higher levels of a protein called VEGF in their tears, which can worsen eye conditions. Researchers tested a treatment using equine amniotic membrane homogenate (EAMH) to see if it could lower these VEGF levels. They found that using a higher concentration of EAMH significantly reduced VEGF levels in the affected dogs' tears. This suggests that EAMH might be a helpful treatment option for dogs suffering from this eye condition, potentially improving their vision.
People also search for: dog eye ulcer treatment · vascularized keratitis in dogs · EAMH for dog eye problems
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Corneal neovascularization can result from many pathological processes affecting the ocular surface leading to disturbances and opacifications that reduce corneal clarity and may impact vision. In veterinary medicine, the use of topical corticosteroid is contraindicated in the presence of ulcerative keratitis, and there is sparse research regarding safe medical alternatives to inhibit corneal neovascularization in dogs to improve visual outcome. AIM: To investigate the pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) concentration in equine amniotic membrane homogenate (EAMH) and itsvascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibition in tears of dogs with vascularized ulcerative keratitis. METHODS: Homogenates from 10 equine amniotic membranes (AM) were analyzed by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for quantification of equine PEDF and VEGF. Forty tear samples were collected from both eyes of dogs diagnosed with vascularized ulcerative keratitis, and 50 samples from healthy dogs. Samples from affected eyes were allocated to G1 - affected undiluted tears; G2 - affected tears diluted with phosphate-buffer solution; G3 - affected tears treated with low-concentrated EAMH; and G4 - affected tears treated with high-concentrated EAMH. Tears from the unaffected contralateral eyes were composed in G5, while G6 was composed by tears from healthy dogs (control). The presence and levels of VEGF were evaluated in all groups by Western blot and ELISA. RESULTS: The PEDF:VEGF ratio in EAMH was 110:1. An increase in VEGF levels was observed in tears from eyes with vascularized corneal ulcers (G1) as well as in contralateral tears (G5), compared to normal dogs (G6). High-concentrated EAMH provided a greater decrease in VEGF levelscompared to low-concentrated EAMH. CONCLUSION: EAMHs exhibited high concentrations of PEDF in comparison to VEGF and were able to partially decrease VEGF levels in tears of dogs with vascularized ulcers,. Our results suggest that VEGF concentration is elevated in tears of dogs with active vascularized ulcerative keratitis in both affected and contralateral eyes compared to that of healthy dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33282700/