Cornea

Cytokeratin 13 Is a New Biomarker for the Diagnosis of Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency

imagePurpose:

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the expression of cytokeratin (K) 13 on the corneal surface and to validate its application in the diagnosis of limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD).

Methods:

This prospective comparative study included 26 corneal impression cytology (IC) specimens from patients diagnosed with LSCD. Twenty-three IC specimens from normal donors served as controls. K12 and K13 expression were detected on the IC specimens by immunohistochemistry study. The number of K12+ or K13+ cells in all areas of the IC was quantified using ImageJ software.

Results:

The epithelial cells harvested from IC specimens from control corneas were all K12+. In eyes with LSCD, K13+ and K12+/K13+ cells accounted for 93.8% and 2.6%, respectively, in the cornea. In eyes with sectoral LSCD, the median number of K13+ cells in the clinically affected area was higher than that in the unaffected area (810.0 vs. 115.0 cells/mm2; P

By , ago

Progression of Pediatric Keratoconus After Corneal Cross-Linking: A Systematic Review and Pooled Analysis

imagePurpose:

Corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) is an effective treatment to slow down keratoconus (KC) progression in adults. Several studies have also shown efficacious outcomes in pediatric populations, yet no systematic analysis has been performed and no accepted definition for progression is available in children after CXL. This study aimed to establish the most commonly used criteria for progression and to conduct a systematic review of the literature with pooled analysis to assess children’s keratoconus progression after CXL.

Methods:

A systemic literature review combined with pooled analysis was performed on full-length studies of KC after CXL treatment in a pediatric population and the methods used to report progression were analyzed.

Results:

Thirty-seven studies (2078 eyes) were identified on the rates of KC progression after CXL. The most common method to report progression was increased Kmax, Kmean, or Ksteep by ≥1.0 diopter (78.3% of studies). Using these criteria, the mean pooled progression rate after epithelium-off CXL was 9.9% (95% confidence interval: 6.1% –14.6%, total pooled sample size: 1508 eyes) with high heterogeneity between studies [I2 = 86.48% (95% confidence interval: 80.98 – 90.39), P

By , ago

Corneal Cellular and Neuroinflammatory Changes After SARS-CoV-2 Infection

imagePurpose:

The purpose of this study was to evaluate corneal cellular and ultrastructural changes and to quantify the neuroinflammatory process in patients after mild severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

Methods:

Thirty patients after SARS-CoV-2 infection and 41 age-matched controls were examined. All subjects underwent in vivo confocal microscopy of the corneal cell layers and subbasal nerve fibers with the Heidelberg Retina Tomograph II. Semiautomated analysis of basal epithelial, anterior and posterior stromal keratocyte, and endothelial cell density was performed. Dendritic cell (DC) density and area were also calculated, and subbasal nerve plexus morphology was analyzed.

Results:

The posterior stromal keratocyte density was significantly lower in patients after SARS-CoV-2 infection (P = 0.0006). DC density in the central cornea was significantly higher in patients after SARS-CoV-2 infection (P = 0.0004). There was a significant difference in the DC area between the 2 groups (P

By Kolkedi, Zsofia; Csutak, Adrienne; Szalai, Eszter, ago