Effect of topical antioxidant therapy on experimental infectious keratitis

To test the effect that the treatment with topical antioxidants may have on corneal infection, we have studied the effect of topically applied antioxidants, such as dimethylthiourea 0.5% (DMTU) and dismutase superoxide 0.2% (SOD), on infectious experimental keratitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus. We have quantified the results of the incubated corneas in ex vivo as well as in in vivo treated with antioxidants by using the luminol amplified chemiluminescence technique (LAC). The evaluation of corneal inflammation was performed calculating the average inflammatory index obtained from the clinical observation of the corneal secretion, corneal edema and ciliary injection. The evolution of the corneal infiltration was evaluated by means of computerized planymetry. The antioxidants used in this study demonstrated a significant reduction of the LAC values when compared with a control group both in the in vivo as well as in ex vivo studies. No significant differences in the clinical evaluation of the average inflammatory index were observed between the study and the control groups. However, a significant increase in the corneal infiltration was registered in the antioxidant treated group (p < 0.001) evaluated by computerized planymetry. Our results indicate that the use of antioxidants as antiinflammatory drugs may have a potential negative influence on the course of infectious keratitis.