Special Issue "Corneal Scarring: Wound Healing and Biomaterials"

Guest Editor
Dr. Dimitris Karamichos
Department of Ophthalmology, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Harvard Medical School, 20 Staniford Street, Boston MA 02114, USA
Website: http://www.schepens.harvard.edu/profiledimtris/dimitris-karamichos-phd/profile.html
E-Mail: dimitris.karamichos@schepens.harvard.edu
Interests: corneal wound healing; extracellular matrix; biomaterials; growth factors

Dear Colleagues,

Over 10 million people worldwide are blind as a result of corneal opacity or scarring. Currently, there are few therapeutic options other than corneal transplantation. One of the hopes for treatment of these patients is the development of an artificial cornea or a compatible biomaterial to replace part or all of the affected area. For well over 200 years, ophthalmologists have been intrigued by the concept of replacing an opaque cornea with an optically clear substitute. These efforts have been slowed by the difficulty in finding a substitute that can replace the exquisitely aligned collagen matrix of the cornea, as well as resist rejection. Several investigations have been made in to the use of plastics to develop an artificial cornea, also termed keratoprosthesis. These keratoprosthesis have enjoyed some success however have not solved the problem. As an alternative to the use of plastics, several investigations have been made to engineer an artificial cornea using natural compounds such as collagens, and to allow corneal cells to secrete their own matrix. The goal of these studies is to develop a synthetic cornea that mimics the native cornea and also integrates into the human eye. It is clearly a huge challenge and the input and effort of various scientific disciplines is vital.

Dr. Dimitris Karamichos
Guest Editor

Submission

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• cornea
• scarring
• wound healing
• extracellular matrix
• biomechanics
• biomaterials
• keratocytes