Chondroitinase as a vitreous interfactant: Vitreous disinsertion in the human

Abstract

Despite the initial discovery and testing of chondroitinase as a pharmacologic vitreolysis agent that began nearly three decades ago, contractual restrictions in the initial years and intellectual drift in more recent years have limited the peer-reviewed publication of most of the animal (monkey) and human studies that evaluated this promising agent. Detailed investigator, institutional, corporate, and registered FDA regulatory documents that are available to us provided the basis for the majority of this chapter. Two devastating floods of Dr. Gregory Hageman’s data room at the University of Iowa, however, reduced the number and variety of images available from which to provide supplementary visual illustration of the human results that will be discussed.