Researchers may have found a new way to effectively treat a serious contact lens-related eye infection called Acanthamoeba keratitis: topical application of riboflavin (vitamin B2), followed by exposure to select wavelengths of UV light (UVA).
In a study conducted by The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Baltimore, Md.), two patients with confirmed cases of the infection and one patient with a presumed case — all characterized by painful corneal ulcers that were resistant to conventional medical treatment — underwent two 30-minute sessions of the vitamin B2/UVA photochemical therapy.
All three patients showed a rapid reduction in their symptoms and the size of their corneal ulcers after the first treatment. The second treatment, performed two to three weeks later, resolved virtually all signs of infection and inflammation.
In addition to appearing effective for the treatment of Acanthamoeba keratitis, the vitamin B2/UVA photochemical therapy might also be useful in treating other types of corneal diseases, including viral and parasitic infections, according to the study authors.
The novel treatment is a minor modification of a procedure called corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL), which is used to strengthen and stabilize corneas affected by keratoconus.
A full report of the study was published recently in the journal Ophthalmology.