Subconjunctival use of allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells to treat chronic superficial keratitis in German shepherd dogs: Pilot study.

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Chronic superficial keratitis (CSK) is an ocular condition in dogs characterized by corneal opacification leading to visual function impairment. Control of this chronic condition requires the use of topical immunomodulators or corticosteroids daily. Regenerative medicine has shown promising results in several fields of medicine. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical effect of allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) of adipose tissue applied via subconjunctival in dogs with CSK. A series of cases of eight dogs diagnosed with CSK were divided into two groups, four dogs each; the conventional treatment group received prednisolone 1% as topical eye drops and the experimental group (EG) received allogeneic MSCs transplantation. The dogs had not previously been treated for CSK. Systemic and ophthalmologic examinations were performed to exclude other abnormalities. An administered amount of MSC (1 × 10 6 cells each time) was injected via subconjunctival in the peri-limbal region at 0 and 30 days. The animals were followed for 110 days for clinical evaluation, and, at the same time, the images of the corneal abnormalities were obtained and analyzed in the ImageJ software. The statistical analysis was performed in the GrandPrism 7.0 software. Initial and final images revealed that areas with neovascularization, inflammatory infiltrate, and opacity regressed in most eyes in

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

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