It's suprising just how much abose the eye will withstand ! I
suspect the reason Rick Jones' opthalmologist was looking for a
new detergent was that they have had problems with the ones
they've used so far. Detergents are quite toxic in their own way and
will, for example, produce deformations in red cells at very low
concentrations (parts per billion - try it if you don't believe me).
Detergent sensitivity is increasingly found in the population at large.
Rick's suggestion of lecithin as a possible alternative sounds
sensible (it's L-alpha-phosphatidyl choline and is sold by Sigma
among others). Your colleague may prefer to use the variety
prepared from soya bean and not type III - extracted from bovine
brain ! My suggestion, however, would be to use an aliquot of the
patient's own serum, which will be sterile while contained in a
venoject tube, will not cause any hypersensitivity reactions, and
will have an excellent detergent action.
Nick Miller,
London
> I have just received one of the more atypical (but
> interesting) requests of a Clinical Biochemistry Department viz-
>
> A local opthalmologist wishes to treat a conditional called 'macular
> holes' which I gather requires him to fill the vitrous space with air and
> for the patient to lie face down for an extended period whilst the hole in
> the retina closes. The request was for me to identify a detergent which
> could be safely introduced into the eye to allow air to enter the
> microscopic pit in the macula area.
>
> My first thought was that lung surfactant may be suitable for this
> being a natural biofriendly compound. Does anyone know of a source of
> material or have any other suggestions?
>
> Best wishes
>
> Rick Jones
>
> Dr Rick Jones
> Director of Chemical Pathology and Immunology
> Institute of Pathology
> Tel:(44)-113-233-5677
> Fax:(44)-113-233-5672
> http://www.acb.org.uk
> http://www.ifcc.org
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