Purpose: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of tacrolimus eye drops as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of severe corneal endothelial rejection after penetrating keratoplasty refractory to corticosteroids.Methods: In this prospective interventional case series, 11 eyes of 11 patients assessed for severe corneal endothelial rejection, with an inadequate response to topical, local, and systemic corticosteroids, were treated with either 0.01% or 0.05% tacrolimus eye drops 4 times daily. Improvement in signs of rejection, visual function, and development of complications were monitored.Results: The duration of steroid treatment before intervention was 8.1 ± 1.4 days (range = 7–11). Patients were subsequently administered topical tacrolimus 0.01% or 0.05% qid. The time to clinical improvement was 10.3 ± 3.4 days (range = 3–17). The time to rejection reversal was 27.8 ± 16.3 days (range = 7–52). After 3 months, 10 patients (90.8%) demonstrated clinical improvement, and complete restoration of graft clarity was achieved in 5 patients (45.4%). In responsive cases, steroid therapy was successfully tapered off after 60.2 ± 19.7 days (range = 36–93). The best spectacle-corrected visual acuity improved from 1.7 ± 0.9 to 0.8 ± 0.5 logMAR (P= 0.0016). Reported side effects included stinging on drop instillation and punctate epithelial keratopathy.Conclusions: Tacrolimus eye drops may be able to play an adjunctive therapeutic role in patients with severe corneal endothelial rejection refractory to conventional steroid treatment. Controlled studies are needed to further investigate the role of tacrolimus in this setting.

Highly inflamed and neovascularized corneal graft beds are known as high-risk (HR) environments for transplant survival. One of the primary factors leading to this rejection is reduction in the suppressive function of regulatory T cells (Treg). Our results show that myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) counteract interleukin-6-mediated Treg dysfunction by expressing interleukin-10. Additionally, MDSC maintain forkhead box P3 stability and their ability to suppress IFN-γ⁺ Th1 cells. Administering MDSC to HR corneal transplant recipients demonstrates prolonged graft survival via promotion of Treg while concurrently suppressing IFN-γ⁺ Th1 cells. Moreover, MDSC-mediated donor-specific immune tolerance leads to long-term corneal graft survival as evidenced by the higher survival rate or delayed survival of a second-party C57BL/7 (B6) graft compared to those of third-party C3H grafts observed in contralateral low-risk or HR corneal transplantation of BALB/c recipient mice, respectively. Our study provides compelling preliminary evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of MDSC in preventing Treg dysfunction, significantly improving graft survival in HR corneal transplantation, and showing promising potential for immune tolerance induction.

To present the clinical, histological, and radiographic findings of a case of orbital myofibroma in an unusual location. The literature is reviewed and the clinical relevance discussed. A 5-year-old boy was examined with a 1.5-month history of progressive swelling in the left supraorbital region. Examination revealed a firm, painless mass in the supralateral region of the left orbit with slight reddish discoloration of the overlying skin. Computerized tomography (CT) scan images showed a well demarcated, homogenous, solid mass with extension to the lacrimal gland region and adjacent to frontal bone erosion. The mass was surgically excised and was confirmed to be myofibroma in diagnostic histological studies. There has been no evidence of recurrence in the first year after surgery. Clinical appearance and imaging findings are unspecific for this tumor, and histological examination still remains the definite method of diagnosis. Therefore, it is important to be able to differentiate myofibromas from other malignant tumors with a similar presentation in pediatric patients to avoid mismanagement.

Purpose: To report our 5-year experience in treating retinoblastoma (RB) with intra-arterial chemotherapy (IAC) as a primary or secondary therapy, without adjuvant intravitreal chemotherapy. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 70 eyes with intraocular RB that were treated with primary or secondary IAC from December 2010-2015. Demographic characteristics, clinical features, tumor control, and treatment complications were compared and reported. Results: Thirty-seven eyes had received IAC as a secondary therapy after failed/incomplete response to systemic chemotherapy, and 33 eyes had received IAC as a primary treatment. The mean age of patients was 25 ± 8.9 months, and the patients were followed for a mean of 24.5 ± 16.26 months. Overall, enucleation rates were significantly higher in advanced tumors (Group D and E) in both groups (both P < 0.05). The main reason for enucleation in this study group was being unresponsive to treatment (27.4%), with 76% of latter patients having vitreous seeds at the time of enucleation. Enucleation rates did not differ significantly between patients receiving primary (18/33, 54%) or secondary IAC (18/37, 48%) (P = 0.06). In addition, recurrence and complication rates did not differ significantly between eyes receiving IAC as their primary or secondary treatment (P > 0.05). Conclusion: In primary and secondary treatment of RB with IAC, the main findings that are globe salvage, recurrence, and complication rates were comparable when no adjuvant intravitreal chemotherapy was used.