Keratoconus, historically viewed as a non-inflammatory disease, is an ectatic corneal disorder associated with progressive thinning of the corneal stroma. Recently, a few inflammatory mediators have been reported to be elevated in the tear fluid of keratoconus patients. Consequently, we investigated a wide range of inflammation regulating cytokines in the tears and sera of keratoconus and contr...

PURPOSE Keratoconus is characterized by thinning and scarring of the central region of the cornea. Previous research showed that, in corneas obtained from patients with keratoconus, lysosomal enzyme activities are elevated, whereas levels of protease inhibitors such as alpha1-proteinase inhibitor are reduced. This study was undertaken to examine further the expression of a spectrum of proteolyt...

Purpose. To build new models with the Ocular Response Analyzer (ORA) waveform parameters to create new indices analogous to established topographic keratoconus indices. Method. Biomechanical, tomographic, and topographic measurements of 505 eyes from the Homburger Keratoconus Centre were included. Thirty-seven waveform parameters (WF) were derived from the biomechanical measurement with the ORA...

Francois Malecaze MD commenced the session with an update on current research into the genetics of keratoconus. Dr Malecaze noted that forme fruste keratoconus is one of the major causes of post-LASIK corneal ectasia and the condition may be due to genetic factors in the majority of cases. Identification of the gene or genes responsible for keratoconus might lead to the development of blood tes...

PURPOSE Keratoconic corneas exhibit more mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage than do normal corneas and thus mtDNA may represent a potential candidate for genetic susceptibility studies in keratoconus. To test this hypothesis we determined mitochondrial haplogroups in Saudi patients with keratoconus and healthy controls of same ethnicity. METHODS Mitochondrial haplogrouping was performed by poly...

Report keratoconus in two patients with a long history of wrestling without any risk factor for corneal ectasia and reviewing the possible pathogenesis. To confirm suspicion of keratoconus, corneal topography was performed using scanning slit topography system and Orbscan. In two wrestlers with the complaint of visual loss in their eyes and IOP raising, corneal topography was performed and de...

Posterior Chamber Phakic Toric Implantable Collamer Lenses have become increasingly used to correct refractive error associated with astigmatism. These devices are claimed to provide high efficacy in terms of refractive correction. This book chapter is an updated review on the safety and effectiveness and potential complications of the toric implantable collamer lens (Toric ICL) published in pe...

UNLABELLED The increasing volume of patients interested in refractive surgery and the new treatment options available for keratoconus have generated a higher interest in achieving a better characterization of this pathology. The ophthalmic devices for corneal analysis and diagnosis have experienced a rapid development during the past decade with the implementation of technologies such as the Pl...

Rotating Scheimpflug imaging technology is used by instruments such as the Pentacam (Oculus) to measure the anterior and posterior corneal surfaces, as well as other anterior segment structures. Initially, Scheimpflug photography was used to obtain images of lens opacities for objective evaluation, but Pentacam-Scheimpflug camera is much wider in its clinical applications as a diagnostic tool f...

PURPOSE To determine the prevalence and risk factors for sleep apnea in a keratoconus population. METHODS Ninety-two keratoconus patients and 92 controls were classified as high risk or low risk for sleep apnea, using the Berlin Questionnaire (BQ) or individual history of sleep apnea. Logistic regression was used to investigate the risk factors associated with high risk of sleep apnea in kera...