The pursuit of beauty has always been a lifelong adventure for many people. In the past, individuals were limited to clothes, accessories and even hair coloring. As time past, cosmetic surgeries became popular. Face lifts, breast augmentation, liposuction and other assorted procedures have made millions of people look younger and feel better about themselves.

More recently Botox has become a very popular procedure to temporarily eliminate facial wrinkles. Allergan, the company that produces Botox is expanding its’ cosmetic pharmaceutical line to include a drug that will increase the volume of eye lashes. It currently manufactures Lumigan which is a prostaglandin analog that treats Glaucoma, an eye disease that causes blindness if left untreated. Use of prostaglandin analogs for glaucoma therapy has produced 2 well documented side affects. The first, is increasing pigment in the irises of light eye people. Thus blue and green eyes may become brown and brown eyes may become black. The second is longer, fuller eye lashes. This was discovered by accident among the drugs users.

There are additional side effects such as redness, itchy eyes and skin pigmentation. This new application drug will be called Latisse and will only be available with a doctor’s prescription. According to the New York Times the monthly cost will be approximately $120.00. The world wide annual expenditure for mascara is in excess of $ 5 Billion and Allergan feels that this product will increase those numbers significantly.

According to Dr Marc Werner, a NYC Oculoplastic surgeon, there is concern that over use of this drug may present the patient with side effects similar to glaucoma patients and may upset the natural balance of intraocular pressure if used incorrectly. Other eye doctors interviewed expressed reservations about prescribing Latisses since they would be liable for the potential side effects, but not gain financially for this additional risk.

Other drugs that have found secondary uses in addition to Botox and prostaglandin analogs are Finasteride which treats prostate enlargement and now is used to treat male pattern baldness and Tretinoin an acne medication that treats fine facial wrinkles under the name of Renova.

All of these therapies are revolutionary and have great therapeutic effects, but must always be used with caution under a doctor’s care and supervision.

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Uveitis has been characterized as an inflammation of the interior of the eye. It may be anterior (in front) or posterior (in back) and often involves the Iris and therefore may also include Iritis. Treatment for these conditions involves topical steroid eye drops, and pupillary dilation. Corticoid steroid therapy, while very effective in treating this condition, does have long term implications and side effects. These include glaucoma and cataracts, and an increased likelihood of infection due to a suppressed immune system.

A recent study conducted at The Coatesville Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Pennsylvania and published in The American Journal of Pathology concluded that Melatonin Therapy may be used to prevent ocular inflammation caused by Uveitis. The study is still preliminary as it was conducted on hamsters, but does show promise in its results.

In the study, subcutaneous pellets of melatonin were implanted in the hamsters, and followed up for the first 24 hours and then in eight days. The melatonin dramatically reduced the clinical signs of the Uveitis including iris changes, dilation of the conjunctiva blood vessels, and anterior chamber cells and flare. In addition, the melatonin also reduced the levels of tumor necrosing factor-alpha, and nuclear factor kappa-B which are the chemicals responsible for causing ocular inflammation in Uveitis. This may be the reason why the melatonin therapy is so effective. Individuals with unresponsive Uveitis may benefit from this new therapeutic regimen since there appears to be very few if any long term side affects. This is a huge advancement over treatment with steroids that do exhibit substantial side affects when used for prolonged periods of time.

An important detail that still needs to be worked out is the delivery method. In lab animals, implanting pellets are easy, but in humans a more practical method must be developed. Since melatonin has a very short half life and breaks down quickly, it demonstrates limited bioavailability. When a good delivery method is developed, Uveitis can then be treated in a safer and efficacious manner.

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