May 29, 2004
The effect of gatifloxacin and moxifloxacin on corneal wound healing.
CRST May 2004
by Randal Olson
Zymar is preserved with 0.005% benzalkonium chloride (BAK), whereas Vigamox is unpreserved. The presence of BAK in topical ophthalmic medications may concern the clinician because many studies have documented its harmful effect on the ocular surface.Due to the known adverse effects of BAK, it was once widely believed that Zymar would more adversely affect the corneal epithelium than would Vigamox. My colleagues and I decided to test this theory. We were surprised that this was not the case. In fact, corneal transplants treated with Zymar had faster epithelial healing after corneal grafting when compared with eyes treated with Vigamox. Vigamox also produced abnormalities of corneal epithelial tight junctions. Moreover, treatment with Zymar resulted in the return of corneal epithelial permeability to near baseline at day 5 despite the potentially harmful presence of BAK. According to Gao et al,5 Zymar significantly facilitated epithelial wound closure in the initial phase of corneal wound healing, and there was no significant increase or delay in epithelial healing in rabbits treated with Zymar. Conversely, Vigamox significantly delayed epithelial wound healing at the early stage of healing.
Posted by mehdi khanlari at May 29, 2004 11:25 PM