Ocular therapeutics Flashcards
Label the following on the diagram of the eye: retina, vitreous, lens, cornea, pupil, iris, optic nerve
Label them all
Describe the path which light takes when entering the eye, to get to the posterior chamber/retina
- Light passes through the clear cornea
- Then passes through the anterior chamber which is filled with aqueous
- Then through the lens into the posterior chamber which is filled with jelly-like vitreous
What are the 2 main layers that line the inside of the globe?
- Outside: sclera
- Immediately inside sclera: choroid (then inside this is retina)
What is the function of the choroid?
Vascular and provides nourishment
What are the 9 layers from the most superficial surface of the retina to the underlying choroid? Name in order
- Nerve fibre layer
- Ganglion cells
- Amacrine cells
- Bipolar cells
- Horizontal cells
- Photoreceptors (rods and cones)
- Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)
- Bruch’s membrane
- Choroid
Identify the following layers of the neural retina on the diagram: inner plexiform layer, inner nuclear layer, outer plexiform layer, outer nuclear layer
Note cell bodies of amacrine cells, bipolar cells and horizontal cells are in inner nuclear layer. Bipolar cell axons are in the inner plexiform layer and dendrites are in the outer plexiform layer. The outer nuclear layer contains cell bodies of photoreceptors
What are 4 key barriers which prevent drug entry into the eye?
- Cornea
- Sclera
- Intraocular pressure
- Blood-ocular barrier
How does the cornea act as a barrier to drug entry to the eye?
Barrier against entry of anything into the eye including infections and drugs
How does the sclera act as a barrier to drug entry to the eye?
Prevents influx of some medications but more porous than the cornea
How does IOP act as a barrier to drug entry to the eye?
Needed to maintain the shape of the globe, any drug must work against pressure gradient to enter the eye
How does the blood-ocular barrier act as a barrier to drug entry to the eye?
Tight junctions that prevent entry of drugs into the eye from the bloodstream
What are the 3 layers that means that the cornea functions as a trilaminar permeability barrier to drugs?
- Epithelium
- Stroma
- Endothelium
How does the cornea epithleium act as a permeability barrier?
It is a layer of squamous, non-keratinised epithelial cells that is a barrier to hydrophilic molecules (difficult to pass through cell membranes of epithelial cells)
What is the structure of the cornea stroma and how does it act as a permeability barrier?
- Composed of collagen fibrils
- Hydrophilic molecules can pass through easily due to high water content, but barrier to hydrophobic molecules
What is the structure of the cornea endothelium and how does it act as a permeability barrier?
- Thinnest layer: single layer of cells that line the inside of the cornea. Cellular layer
- Barrier to hydrophilic molecules
How can the ability of drug molecules to penetrate the different layers of the cornea be summarised?
- Normalised, hydrophobic molecules penetrate the epithelium/ endothelium
- Ionised, hydrophilic molecules penetrate the stroma well
Indentify the different layers of the cornea on the histological image
Outermost of the curve (left hand side) is epithelial layer, red arrow points to stroma, innermost (longest arrow) is endothelium
How does the sclera prevent the influx of some medications?
Due to intraocular pressure, there is a constant outward flow across the sclera which drugs must over come
How do direct injections around the eye interact with the sclera?
Even these penetrate the sclera very slowly
Why is a blood-ocular barrier necessary and what is it analogous to?
The retina is a very sensitive and delicate structure which must be protected from infection, inflammation and toxins in the blood. Analogous to blood-brain barrier
What does the blood-ocular barrier consist of and what are the 4 locations?
Tight junctions between:
- the cells of the outermost layer of the retina, the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)
- layers of the ciliary body
- pigmented and non-pigmented ciliary epithelium
- retinal capillary endothelial cells
What is the ultimate result of the blood-ocular barrier?
Prevents entry of substances into the posterior segment, which protects the retina and forms a barrier to prevent drug entry
What are 4 overall routes of ocular drug administration?
- Topical
- Periocular injections
- Intraocular injections
- Systemic (oral and IV)
What are 2 formulations of topical ocular drugs?
- Ointment
- Drops
What are 3 types of periocular injections?
- Peribulbar
- Sub-tenon
- Subconjunctival
Label the following on the diagram: conjunctiva, sclera, Tenon’s capsule, sub Tenon’s space
What is the prefix of eyedrop drugs and why?
G. e.g. G. chloramphenicol, for ‘Guttae’ which means drops in Latin
What is the most common route of administration for ocular therapies?
eye drops
What are 2 advantages of eye drops as a route of drug administration?
- Minimises systemic absorption
- Easy to use for majority of patients
What are 3 disadvantages of eye drops as a route of drug administration?
- Natural tear flow means drops have a short period of contact with the eye
- Permability of the eye: limits choice of molecules that can be used, difficult to penetrate the eye further than the lens
- Less than 10% of an eye drop is absorbed into the eye
How does tear volume impact the administration of a drug with eye drops?
The average size of a drop administered from a container is about 35µl but tear film can only hold 7µl, so spillover of drops is to be expected
Why is a greater drop volume for eyedrops or greater number of drops unnecessary?
They will spill over (too large for tear film volume) and be of no additional benefit as the eye can’t even hold one whole drop. A second drop will wash out any previous drops.
How long should be left between administration of multiple different eye drops and why?
At least 5 minutes, as administering them too soon will wash out previous drops due to the low volume of the tear film (7µl)
What has been developed to try and overcome issues of tear turnover and eye drops?
Paraffin-based ointments