RT Journal Article
T1 The potential of using biodegradable microspheres in retinal diseases and other intraocular pathologies
A1 Herrero Vanrell, María Del Rocío
A1 Bravo Osuna, Irene
A1 Andrés-Guerrero, Vanessa
A1 Vicario De La Torre, Marta
A1 Molina Martínez, Irene Teresa
AB Pathologies affecting the posterior segment are one of the major causes of blindness in developed countries and are becoming more prevalent due to the increase in society longevity. Sucessful therapy of diseases affecting the back of the eye requires effective concentrations of the active substance mantained during a long period of time in the intraocular target site. Treatment of vitreoretinal diseases often include repeated intravitreous injections that are associated with adverse effects. Local administration of biodegradable microspheres offers an excellent alternative to multiple administrations, as they are able to deliver the therapeutic molecule in a controlled fashion. Furthermore, injection of microparticles is performed without the need for surgical procedures. As most of the retinal diseases are multifactorial, microspheres result especially promising because they can be loaded with more than one active substance and complemented with the inclusion of additives with pharmacological properties. Personalized therapy can be easily achieved by changing the amount of administered microspheres. Contrary to non-biodegradable devices, biodegradable PLA and PLGA microspheres disappear from the site of administration after delivering the drug. Furthermore, microspheres prepared from these mentioned biomaterials are well tolerated after periocular and intravitreal injections in animals and humans. After injection, PLA and PLGA microspheres suffer aggregation behaving like an implant. Biodegradable microspheres are potential tools in regenerative medicine for retinal repair. According to the reported results, presumably a variety of microparticulate formulations for different ophthalmic therapeutic uses will be available in the clinical practice in the near future.
PB Elsevier
SN 1350-9462
YR 2014
FD 2014-09
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/34091
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/34091
LA eng
NO Unión Europea. FP7
NO Ministerio de Economía, Comercio y Empresa (España)
NO Universidad Complutense de Madrid
DS Docta Complutense
RD 16 dic 2025