Blood-derived products have application in ocular surface disease therapy

The ocular surface is severely affected in diseases such as Sjögren’s syndrome, persistent epithelial defect, recurrent corneal erosion, neurotrophic keratopathy, post-LASIK dry eye syndrome, graft-versus-host disease and ocular cicatricial pemphigoid. The treatment of ocular surface disorders is difficult, and conventional therapy is often not enough to solve the problem. Scientists and clinicians have been searching for a long time for a substance that would be similar to tears in composition and may stimulate the healing process of the tissues affected in ocular surface disorders.Blood-derived products have demonstrated their capacity to enhance healing and stimulate the regeneration of different tissues, and this enhancing effect is attributed to the growth factors and bioactive proteins that are synthesized and present in blood. Different blood-derived formulations, such as autologous serum, plasma enriched with platelets and preparations rich in growth factors, have been used to promote wound healing in multiple tissues. The serum is the clear liquid part of full blood after cellular components and clotting proteins have been removed.