Limitations and advances in new treatments and future perspectives of corneal blindness

ABSTRACT This review is intended to describe the therapeutic approaches for corneal blindness, detailing the steps and elements involved in corneal wound healing. It also presents the limitations of the actual surgical and pharmacological strategies used to restore and maintain corneal transparency in terms of long-term survival and geographic coverage. In addition, we critically review the perspectives of anabolic agents, including vitamin A, hormones, growth factors, and novel promitotic and anti-inflammatory modulators, to assist corneal wound healing. We discuss the studies involving nanotechnology, gene therapy, and tissue reengineering as potential future strategies to work solely or in combination with corneal surgery to prevent or revert corneal blindness.摘要 本综述旨在阐述角膜盲（corneal blindness）的治疗手段，详细阐明角膜伤口愈合（corneal wound healing）过程中的具体步骤与相关要素。本综述同时分析了当前用于恢复并维持角膜透明度的手术与药物治疗策略在长期疗效留存与地域覆盖范围层面存在的局限性。此外，本综述将对辅助角膜伤口愈合的合成代谢制剂（包括维生素A、激素、生长因子以及新型促有丝分裂与抗炎调节剂）的应用前景展开批判性评述。本文还将探讨纳米技术（nanotechnology）、基因治疗（gene therapy）与组织工程（tissue reengineering）相关研究，将其作为可单独应用或联合角膜手术以预防或逆转角膜盲的潜在未来治疗策略。