title: Effect of microplasmin on the clearance of vitreous haemorrhage from an experimental model in rabbits.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Microplasmin is known to alter the structure of the vitreous gel. The current experiments were designed to assess its ability to enhance clearance of an experimentally induced vitreous haemorrhage, and to compare it to ovine hyaluronidase.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-five rabbits were used for this experiment, divided into five groups; groups 1-3 are microplasmin-treated eyes with 25, 75 and 125 μg, respectively. Group 4 treated with 55 IU of hyaluronidase, while group 5 was treated with normal saline (control). Eyes were injected in the mid-vitreous with 0.05 ml of autologous blood obtained from the marginal ear vein. One week later, all the groups were injected with the test solution injected in mid-vitreous as stated above. Clearance of the vitreous haemorrhage was assessed weekly indirect ophthalmoscopy for 8 weeks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Microplasmin-treated eyes showed a significant clearance of the vitreous haemorrhage in a dose-dependent fashion, where group 3 (125 μg) had the highest clearance rate in comparison with control eyes. Hyaluronidase-treated eyes showed a similar clearance rate as group 3. In addition, group 3 showed a complete posterior vitreous detachment, which did not develop in hyaluronidase-treated eyes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Microplasmin may be a useful agent to accelerate the clearance of vitreous haemorrhage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, The NetherlandsDepartment of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Assiut Branch, EgyptRetina and Inflammation, MIOS, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Ashraf M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Gad Elkareem
authors.forename: Marc D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: de Smet
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001769:Blood; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D005341:Fibrinolysin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006821:Hyaluronoglucosaminidase / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009887:Ophthalmoscopy; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011817:Rabbits; D014822:Vitreous Body; D014823:Vitreous Hemorrhage / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents; D010446:Peptide Fragments; C054561:microplasmin; D006821:Hyaluronoglucosaminidase; D005341:Fibrinolysin