title: Biodegradable scleral plugs for vitreoretinal drug delivery.
abstract: Intraocular controlled drug release is one way to facilitate drug efficacy and decrease side effects that occur with systemic administration. Vitreoretinal drug delivery with the biodegradable scleral plug has been investigated. The scleral plug, which is made of biodegradable polymers and drugs, can be implanted at the pars plana using a simple procedure, and it gradually releases effective doses of drugs with polymer biodegradation for several months. The release profiles of the drugs were dependent on the kind of polymers used, their molecular weights, and the amount of drug in the plug. The plugs are effective for treating vitreoretinal diseases such as proliferative vitreoretinopathy. The implantation site was replaced with connective tissue. Electroretinography and histologic studies revealed little retinal toxicity. This implantable scleral plug was supposed to be advantageous for diseases such as cytomegalovirus retinitis that respond to repeated intravitreal injections and for vitreoretinal disorders that require vitrectomy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Kawahara-cho, Shogoin, Sakyo-ku, 606-8507, Kyoto, Japan. yasukawa@kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yasukawa
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tabata
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ogura
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D017726:Cytomegalovirus Retinitis / Q000188:drug therapy; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015774:Ganciclovir / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011108:Polymers / Q000008:administration & dosage; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012590:Sclera / Q000378:metabolism*; D012995:Solubility; D018630:Vitreoretinopathy, Proliferative / Q000188:drug therapy; D014822:Vitreous Body
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid; D019344:Lactic Acid; D015774:Ganciclovir