Abstract
In the present study, retinal lesions were induced by transscleral iontophoresis (1.5 mA) in rabbits. The size and severity of the lesions increased with the duration of application (2–25 min). No lesion was noted after <1 min application. Immediately after 5 min iontophoresis, the edematous retina exhibited necrotic retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), loss of outer segments, and thinning of the inner and outer nuclear layers. At 5 days after iontophoresis, there was a proliferation of RPE cells and macrophages in the subretinal space, with thinning of the inner and outer retinal layers continuing. By day 14, the retina had been reduced to a glial membrane. Immediately after 15 min iontophoresis, the damaged retina appeared in a mummified form containing no cellular elements. By day 5 thereafter, macrophages and actively proliferating RPE cells had been noted in the necrotic retina. By day 14, a glial membrane had formed.
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This work was supported in part by Army Research and Development Command grant DAMD 17-89-Z-9025, PHS grant EY-06761-04 and by the Illinois Eye Fund
Offprint requests to: M.O.M. Tso
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Lam, T.T., Fu, J. & Tso, M.O. A histopathologic study of retinal lesions inflicted by transscleral iontophoresis. Graefe's Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 229, 389–394 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00170699
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00170699