Photodynamic treatment of herpes keratitis.

Photodynamic inactivation of virus was tested as a potential therapeutic tool for herpesvirus-induced keratitis, which is a leading cause of blindness and disability. Experimental keratitis produced in rabbits by infection with herpesvirus isolated from a human periorbital lesion was treated with proflavine and light. The herpetic keratitis could be rapidly resolved by the dye-light treatment, whereas improvement was not seen in untreated rabbits, nor in those treated with light alone or dye alone.