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Study: Only dexamethasone non-toxic to retinal cells

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LISBON, Portugal — After a comprehensive study of the safety profile of steroids on retinal cells, only dexamethasone was found to be non-toxic, said one speaker here.

During the free paper presentations here at Euretina, Baruch Kupperman, MD, PhD, said that while “24-hour exposure of clinically relevant concentrations of triamcinolone, betamethasone and methyl prednisolone were toxic to retinal cells,” dexamethasone was not. No preservatives were found to be toxic either, he said.

Dr. Kupperman used a trypan blue dye assay to measure toxicity. He said the study compared human retinal pigment epithelial cell lines and rat neurosensory retinal cells cultured in a 10% fetal bovine serum medium.

“The data showed triamcinonolone was toxic at 2, 6 and 24 hours,” Dr. Kupperman said. “Dexamethasone showed no signs of toxicity until the highest dose at 24 hours. This was 10 times the amount you would use clinically.”

Betamethasone and methyl prednisolone showed toxicity at 2 hours, he said.