E-Mail karger@karger.com Original Paper Ophthalmic Res 2014;52:170–174 DOI: 10.1159/000366283 Antiangiogenic Effect of Itraconazole on Corneal Neovascularization: A Pilot Experimental Investigation Sertan Goktas   a Rabia Sakarya   a Ender Erdogan   b Yasar Sakarya   a Muammer Ozcimen   a Duygu Dursunoglu   b Metin Kocacan   b Ismail Alpfidan   a Erkan Erdogan   a Abdulkadir Bukus   a Ismail Senol Ivacık   a   a  Department of Ophthalmology, Konya Training and Research Hospital, and b  Department of Histology and Embryology, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey 4 and 6 (the control groups) were 70% (95% confidence in- terval, 60.7–77.3%), 69% (63.0–77.7%) and 68% (56.5–78.5%), respectively. The area of neovascularization was smaller af- ter itraconazole treatment as compared to saline treatment. Further, the area of neovascularization was smaller after top- ical and subconjunctival administration than after intraperi- toneal administration. Histological evaluation of the corneas showed the most extensive corneal neovascularization in the control group. No local or systemic adverse effects were seen from either treatment group. Conclusion: Itraconazole reduces corneal neovascularization shortly after chemical burn. However, a larger experimental study is necessary to confirm the data of this investigation. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel Introduction Corneal neovascularization is the formation of new vessels from the limbal radial vessels, which degrades vi- sual acuity. Pathological conditions such as inflammato- ry, infectious, degenerative or traumatic disorders can lead to corneal neovascularization [1]. Medical treat- ment, laser treatment or photodynamic therapy may be Key Words Cornea · Neovascularization · Chemical burn · Itraconazole Abstract Purpose: To investigate the antiangiogenic effect of itracon- azole for the prevention of experimentally induced corneal neovascularization and whether the efficacy depends on the route of administration. Materials and Methods: Thirty-six rats were randomly divided into 6 groups with 6 rats in each group. Chemical cauterization of the cornea was performed using silver nitrate/potassium nitrate sticks, and the rats were subsequently treated daily with topical (10 mg/ml), subconjunctival (10 mg/ml) or intraperitoneal (19 mg/kg) itraconazole for 7 days. Control rats received topical, subcon- junctival or intraperitoneal 0.9% saline. On the 8th day of the experiment, the rat corneas were photographed to deter- mine the percentage area of the cornea covered by neovas- cularization. The maximum density of corneal neovascular- ization was determined by microscopy. Results: The median percentage of corneal neovascularization for group 1 was 31.5% (95% confidence interval, 27.5–35.5%); in group 3, it was 32% (23.5–39.8%); in group 5, it was 47% (36.3–60.0%). The percentages of corneal neovascularization in groups 2, Received: April 25, 2014 Accepted after revision: July 30, 2014 Published online: October 21, 2014 Sertan Goktas Department of Ophthalmology, Konya Training and Research Hospital TR–42090 Meram-Konya (Turkey) E-Mail drsertandr  @  gmail.com © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel 0030–3747/14/0524–0170$39.50/0 www.karger.com/ore Downloaded by: Selçuk Universitesi 193.255.246.86 - 11/6/2014 3:28:31 PM