Beta Radiation Inhibition of Corneal Healing

I. Tensile Strength and Ultrastructure Change

¹ Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.

Radiation-induced changes in the corneal repair process have been correlated with a marked reduction in the tensile strength of the wound. These changes are characterized by: a prominent deficiency in the synthetic capability of the fibroblastic cells involved in the wound, abnormal ultrastructural detail of both these fibroblastic cells, and the epithelial cells that recover the incision; a complete lack of collagen synthesis in the stroma of the wound; and a marked absence of endothelial cells attempting to recover the incision and seal the wound posteriorly. Electron microscopic studies show that the pronounced ultrastructural changes in the corneal repair phenomenon are evident at radiation doses of less than half that required to produce any discernible damage or alteration in the intact cornea. The lack of tensile strength of the wound, the associated paucity of cells involved in the wound, and the abnormal ultrastructure of these cells was equally apparent in corneal wounds that had received the radiation either three months prior to surgery or immediately after wounding.

Key Words: beta radiation • corneal healing • tensile strength

Submitted on June 18, 1971
Accepted on September 21, 1971