Interferon-beta treatment of herpes simplex keratitis.

We tested a new preparation of interferon-beta (IFN-beta) to determine its efficacy and tolerability in the treatment of herpetic keratitis. The 20 patients admitted to the trial were selected from patients who had not received any previous treatment with virustatic agent; they were treated in a comparative, randomised open trial with eye drop containing IFN-beta or iododesoxyuridine (10 vs. 10). Examination of the data show that 10 out of 10 patients treated with IFN-beta respond positively to the treatment, furthermore it showed that IFN-beta produce no local or general toxicity.