Uso tópico de células-tronco mesenquimais em cães com ceratoconjuntivite seca (CCS).

Abstract

Dry keratoconjunctivitis (DKC) is a multifactorial condition that causes tear production disorder, resulting in classic signs such as: ocular dryness, conjunctival hyperemia, nuisance, pain, hyperpigmentation, neovascularization, mucous or mucopurulent secretion, and may or may not be present ulcers. In conventional treatment, immunosuppressive drugs are usually used, administered for long periods, but they have limited results. Thus, the requirement to pursue new treatments aimed at repairing and restoring the functionality of the compromised lacrimal gland is one of the main challenges in the field of veterinary medicine. In the present study, four dogs (DKC-1, DKC -2, DKC-3 and DKC-4) bilaterally affected by Dry keratoconjunctivitis were used, which received autologous cells, instilled in each eye, receiving 3 applications with interval of 30 days each and being evaluated weekly for clinical evolution and lacrimal production, by means of the Schirmer test. Initially, there was a reduction of the clinical signs of the disease, with a significant improvement throughout the evaluation period, showing a marked decrease in ocular secretion, improvement in opacity and corneal vascularization, and subtle increase in lacrimal production. However, the benefit in relation to the cost needs to be better evaluated since the use of cells as well as the conventional treatment is also limited, and may not be long lasting when it comes to animals with a chronic stage of the disease, which may have had a direct influence on the results found. In this way, more studies using animals of mild to moderate disease are necessary regarding the topical use of mesenchymal stem cells.