Photochemical therapy to affect mechanical and/or chemical properties of body tissue
AssigneesThe Regents of the University of California, California Institute of Technology
InventorsMatthew S. Mattson, Julia A. Kornfield, Daniel M. Schwartz, Robert K. Maloney, Robert H. Grubbs
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Abstract
The disclosure concerns altering the mechanical and/or chemical property of a body tissue, particularly an ocular tissue. In specific cases, it concerns altering or stabilizing the shape of the cornea, such as in a subject suffering or at risk for ectasia or keratoconus. In other specific cases, it concerns strengthening the sclera in a subject suffering or at risk for myopia. The invention employs light irradiation of a photoactivatable compound, such as one that applies crosslinking to the tissue, for example.
Claims50
A method of altering a mechanical and/or chemical property of a tissue in a subject, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) administering a composition comprising a photoinitiator compound to a tissue of the subject, wherein the composition does not include a photopolymerizable compound, and
- (b) activating the photoinitiator compound by a visible light irradiation of the tissue,
- whereby the photoinitiator compound directly alters a mechanical and/or chemical property of the tissue.
A method of treating or reducing the risk of an ocular deformation condition in a subject, the method comprising the steps of:
- a) administering a composition comprising a photoinitiator compound in a therapeutically effective amount, wherein the composition does not include a photopolymerizable compound, to directly treat, or directly reduce the risk of an ocular deformation condition in, an ocular tissue of the subject;
- and
- b) activating the photoinitiator compound by a light irradiation of the tissue,
- whereby the photoinitiator compound directly treats or directly reduces the risk of the ocular deformation condition.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.