keratocyte density in normal and keratoconic corneas using confoscan

purpose: to compare keratocyte density between normal and keratoconic corneas in non-contact lens wearers. methods: confocal scanning was performed on 39 corneas of 26 patients with keratoconus and 28 corneas of 14 normal control subjects. none of the cases were contact lens wearer. all individuals underwent ophthalmic examination and computed topography in addition to confocal microscopy. main outcome measures were anterior (10%), middle (33-67%) and posterior (10%) stromal keratocyte densities. results: mean age of the subjects was 27.7±6.6 (range 18-45) years. mean keratocyte density in the control group was 736.7±65.6 cell/mm2 in the anterior stroma, 623.4±72.6 cell/mm2 in the middle stroma and 608.6±45.8 cell/mm2 in the posterior stroma. corresponding values in the keratoconus group were 787.9±103.5, 665.2±58.1 and 604.2±69.0 respectively. no significant difference was noted between the two groups regarding stromal keratocyte density; however stromal keratocyte density significantly decreased from anterior toward posterior stromal layers within both groups. keratocyte density showed statistically insignificant decrease with aging. keratocyte density was significantly higher in female subjects (p= 0.019). conclusion: no significant difference was seen between normal and keratoconic corneas in terms of stromal keratocyte density.