Beta adrenoceptors and regenerating corneal epithelium.

Beta blockers inhibit corneal re-epithelialization. This may be due to beta-2 receptor controlled mechanisms. To investigate this possibility we performed a randomized, double-masked study involving 60 rabbit iatrogenic induced corneal ulcers produced with iodine vapour. Two beta specific drug compounds were tested, namely, betaxolol hydrochloride 0.25% (Alcon) (beta 1) and L132-468 (Sandoz, Basel) 0.25% (beta 2), and phosphate-buffered solution (PBS) as control. There was no statistical difference in the wound healing rates among all groups at 24 hours but there were significant differences at 48 hours (p less than 0.01). At 72 hours, the L132-468 treated groups showed significantly less healing than the betaxolol hydrochloride treated group. The PBS-treated group was healed at this time. By 20th post burning day, SEM revealed that betaxolol hydrochloride treated corneas were completely healed with normal epithelial microvilli. The L132-468 treated corneas were also healed but desquamation and abnormal cells were observed. In conclusion, beta-2 blockers inhibit corneal re-epithelialization more potently than beta-1 blockers.