Antiproteases in herpetic keratitis

Proteolytic enzyme inhibitors are capable of preventing decomposition of the collagen structures of the corneal stroma, and also have a regulating influence on various aspects of the inflammatory process. The content of proteolytic enzymes (alpha 1-antitrypsin and alpha 2-macroglobulin) was studied in the tears and the blood serum of patients with herpes viral keratitis, as well as in the blood serum of rabbits with experimentally-induced ophthalmoherpes. Herpetic keratitis was attended by significant changes in the content of proteolysis inhibitors, as well as in the peripheral blood neutral proteases activity, this presumably serving as a nonspecific blood protective reaction to the inflammation. In the tears of patients suffering from herpetic keratitis the inhibitors are expended for binding activated proteases in the cornea. Local application to rabbits of protein preparations with an inhibitory effect (contrykal, gordox) at the acute period of the experimentally-induced ophthalmoherpes produced a marked antiphlogistic effect.