Sub-Tenon Sustained Controllable Delivery of Dexamethasone for Treating Severe Acute Experimental Uveitis

ABSTRACT

Purpose

To evaluate the efficacy of dexamethasone (DXM) through sub-tenon sustained controllable drug delivery system (SSCDDS) for treating severe acute experimental uveitis.

Methods

Rabbits were treated with either DXM (treated group) or normal saline (control group) through SSCDDS. Clinical signs of uveitis were assessed at days 1, 3, 5, 7, and 14 after treatment. Histopathologic examinations were performed to evaluate inflammatory cell infiltration on posttreatment days 7 and 14.

Results

All signs of experimental uveitis were reduced by SSCDDS of DXM according to clinical criteria, and the treated group had significantly less inflammation than the control group (p<0.05). Histopathologic examinations showed severe inflammation and marked inflammatory cell infiltration in the control group, but minimal inflammation in the treated group.

Conclusions

Sub-tenon sustained controllable delivery of DXM effectively suppresses severe acute inflammation in a rabbit model of uveitis. The proposed minimal invasive system might be a promising candidate for managing severe ocular diseases.

Keywords:

• Dexamethasone
• drug delivery system
• sub-tenon
• treatment
• uveitis

Authors’ contributions

Libei Zhao carried out the experiments and drafted the manuscript. Xuetang Huang, Manqiang Peng, and Wenxiang Lin participated in the experiments. Qian Tan and Muhammad Ahmad Khan performed the calculations. Ding Lin designed this study and modified the manuscript; Qiongyan Tang conceived the study and participated in its design. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

Acknowledgments

We thank all staff at Aier School of Ophthalmology of Central South University and the Department of Laboratory Animals of Central South University for their great support and technical assistance in animal work.

Declaration of interest

No authors have any potential conflicts of interest to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Hunan Provincial Science and Technology Department [[2014] 14].