Israeli innovation boosts antibiotic delivery in eye care for humans and animals
A promising Israeli study released on Wednesday offers a breakthrough in eye care that could significantly improve the treatment of ocular infections in both dogs and humans.
Guide dogs from the Israeli Centre for Guide Dogs who serve and emotionally support wounded soldiers, dressed up for Purim at Sheba Medical Center’s Rehabilitation Hospital in Ramat Gan, Mar 25, 2024. Photo by Eitan Elhadez-Barak/TPS
Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have discovered that cross-linked hyaluronic acid (XHA), a novel carrier for antibiotics, dramatically enhances the retention and concentration of the drugs in the tear film, resulting in more effective treatments.
This innovation, which was tested on healthy dogs, could help reduce dosing frequency, improve compliance, and minimize the risk of antimicrobial resistance — offering benefits that extend well beyond veterinary applications.
“This study not only offers clear benefits for our veterinary patients, but it also carries translational relevance for human medicine,” said Dr. Lionel Sebbag, who led the research. “Dogs are affected by many of the same ocular diseases as humans, and their ocular anatomy and physiology are much more comparable to human eyes than those of commonly used pre-clinical research species, such as rabbits or rodents. This makes dogs an especially valuable model in ophthalmic research.”
The findings were recently published in the peer-reviewed Veterinary Ophthalmology journal.
The researchers compared two common excipients –polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and XHA — as carriers for the antibiotics cefazolin and chloramphenicol in canine eye infections. They then administered eye drops containing either antibiotic combined with PVA or XHA, and measured drug concentrations in the dogs’ tear films over time.
The results were striking. The XHA-based eye drops achieved significantly higher antibiotic concentrations and retained the drugs for longer periods compared to the PVA formulation. Specifically, the antibiotic exposure for cefazolin was 2.4 times higher, and for chloramphenicol, it was 4.2 times greater with XHA.
The potential practical applications of this discovery are far-reaching for both veterinary and human medicine.
XHA could revolutionize the treatment of bacterial eye infections in dogs by providing more effective, longer-lasting antibiotic delivery in fewer doses. Additionally, the ability to maintain therapeutic drug levels for longer could help address the growing concern of antimicrobial resistance.
In human medicine, this discovery could be a game-changer for treating ocular infections.
Because dogs’ eye anatomy is more similar to humans than other commonly used animal models, XHA-based eye drops may be more easily translated into effective treatments for human patients. Moreover, the XHA formulation’s natural antibacterial properties and ability to support corneal wound healing make it a promising candidate for a wide range of ocular diseases, including infections and inflammations.
Beyond antibiotics, XHA could also be used as a vehicle for delivering other ocular medications, such as antivirals, antifungals, and anti-inflammatory agents.
