Novel Non-Invasive Treatment for Canine Corneal Ulcers: Application of New Extracellular Matrix-Based Sticky Sealants.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of a newly developed adhesive tissue sealant, gelatinized cornea-derived decellularized extracellular matrix (Cod-ECM) for the treatment of stromal ulcers in dogs.

Animal studied: This study included 60 eyes of 56 dogs diagnosed with stromal ulcerative keratitis, limited to corneal ulcers involving less than 50% of corneal thickness.

Procedures: Thirty eyes were treated with gelatinized Cod-ECM in combination with standard medical therapy, while the remaining eyes received conventional therapy alone. Assessments included the corneal opacity score (assessed using the semi-quantitative preclinical ocular toxicology scoring system), degree of corneal neovascularization, and time taken for complete epithelialization.

Results: Complete re-epithelialization was achieved in both the gelatinized Cod-ECM group and the Control group. The gelatinized Cod-ECM group exhibited a significant improvement in corneal opacity compared with that in the Control group (p < 0.01). Complete epithelialization occurred significantly faster in the GelCODE group (3.9 ± 0.7 days) than in the Control group (5.3 ± 1.0 days) (p < 0.01). The use of gelatinized Cod-ECM was not associated with a significant improvement in corneal vascularization compared to the Control group (p = 0.3).

Conclusions: Gelatinized Cod-ECM is a simple, non-invasive, and cost-effective treatment option for stromal corneal ulcers. Compared to conventional therapy, it provides superior corneal clarity and significantly accelerates epithelial healing. Although it showed no significant effect on corneal neovascularization, its ease of application and therapeutic benefits make it a promising and widely applicable approach for the management of stromal corneal ulcers in veterinary practice.