[Role of photoreactivation in case of corneal damage from ultraviolet radiation]

Experimentally, the role of photoreactivation in appearance of ultraviolet lesions of corneal epithelium has been studied in white rats. The lesions were induced by ultraviolet radiation, 0.28 mcm wavelength, and intensive (20000 lx) light of a xenon lamp with light filters was used as a reactivating light. The damaging dose as a reactivating light. The damaging dose of ultraviolet radiation by photokeratitis criterion was 11 +/- 2.4 mJ.cm-2. Simultaneous illumination of the animal eye by the damaging ultraviolet light and reactivating radiation exceeded a damaging threshold to 18 +/- 4.0 mJ.cm-2. The results obtained have convincingly shown, that photoreactivation, as a phenomenon, manifested itself in the corneal epithelium and was detected by biomicroscopy of the eye with epithelium staining by a 1% fluorescein solution.