PURPOSE To describe the baseline findings in patients enrolled in the Collaborative Longitudinal Evaluation of Keratoconus (CLEK) Study. METHODS This is a longitudinal observational study of 1209 patients with keratoconus enrolled at 16 clinical centers. Its main outcome measures are corneal scarring, visual acuity, keratometry, and quality of life. RESULTS The CLEK Study patients had a mea...

BACKGROUND Numerous videokeratographic methods are used in the diagnosis of keratoconus. The purpose of this study was to compare the sensitivity and specificity of the KISA% index with the keratometry (K) value, inferior-superior (I-S) value, relative skewing of the steepest radial axes (SRAX), and keratometric astigmatism (AST) indices in 25 patients presenting with bilateral keratoconus. M...

PURPOSE To better understand the pathogenesis of hereditary keratoconus, an inbred line of spontaneous mutant mice with keratoconus-affected corneas (SKC mice) was established and studied with a multidisciplinary approach. METHODS Using a mutant mouse with corneas having a keratoconical appearance as the progenitor, an inbred line of SKC mouse was established by repeated sibling mating. Morph...

BACKGROUND Keratoconus may progress to acute corneal hydrops even after cross-linking. In some cases, keratoconus progresses during pregnancy. In this report, we present a case of a patient with increased anterior stromal resistance after cross-linking that would favor nonprogression of keratoconus during pregnancy. CASE PRESENTATION We report that cross-linking is likely to have had a protec...

PURPOSE To report the recurrence of keratoconus 49 months after deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK). CASE REPORT A 21-year-old man with history of bilateral keratoconus who had undergone DALK in his right eye, presented with gradual visual loss 49 months after corneal transplantation. Slit lamp biomicroscopy revealed graft ectasia together with Vogt's striae in the posterior stroma and...

Biomass-derived N-doped carbon (BNC) is an important environmental material and widely used in the fields of water purification soil remediation. However, toxicant commonly synthesis process BNC materials have been largely ignored. Herein, we firstly report presence a highly toxic by-product (KCN) activation consequential carbothermal reduction reaction. Because this reaction also regulates N-d...

PURPOSE Polymorphisms in the interleukin 1 alpha (IL1A) and IL1B gene regions were previously associated with keratoconus in a Korean population. In the present study, we investigated whether the IL1A and IL1B polymorphisms are associated with keratoconus in a Japanese population. METHODS A total of 169 Japanese patients with keratoconus and 390 Japanese healthy controls were recruited. We ge...

PURPOSE Four videokeratographic methods for keratoconus detection were compared with a neural network approach. METHODS A classification neural network for keratoconus screening was designed to detect the presence of keratoconus (KC) or keratoconus suspects (KCS); a separate cone severity network graded the severity of conelike topography patterns consistent with KC or KCS. Three hundred TMS-...

PURPOSE To present light and electron microscopic as well as immunohistochemical findings after corneal cross-linking (CXL). METHODS Six keratoconus corneas after CXL, 12 keratoconus corneas without CXL, and 7 normal corneas were examined by light microscopy, indirect immunohistochemistry using antibodies against proapoptotic BAX, antiapoptotic survivin, and BCL-2, and anti-smooth muscle acti...

AIM To assess the incidence and associated signs and symptoms of patients with keratoconus in Asir Province, Saudi Arabia. METHODS 125 new keratoconus patients (51 male, 74 female; mean age 18.5 (SD 3.8) years; range 8--28 years) were recruited from referrals to the department of ophthalmology, Asir Central Hospital, over a 1 year period. Age, visual acuity, and keratometry were recorded alon...