Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Keratocyte density in keratoconus. A confocal microscopy study(a).

Jay C Erie1, Sanjay V Patel, Jay W McLaren

  • 1Departments of Ophthalmology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA

American Journal of Ophthalmology
|November 14, 2002
PubMed
Summary

Contact lens wear significantly reduces keratocyte density in keratoconus patients, particularly in the anterior and posterior corneal stroma. This finding highlights the impact of contact lenses on corneal cell health in individuals with keratoconus.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Presence of Eyelid Disease in Habitual Scleral Lens Wearers.

Journal of clinical medicine·2026
Same author

Clinical burden of dry eye disease in patients with ocular graft versus host disease.

Academia medicine and health·2026
Same author

Intracorneal Hemorrhage Associated With Scleral Lens Wear.

Eye & contact lens·2025
Same author

Chronic Ocular GVHD Treatment at Two Locations of a Tertiary Referral Center.

Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.)·2024
Same author

Incidence and sex differences of diabetes among youth: a 50-year population-based cohort study.

Acta diabetologica·2024
Same author

Corneal Backscatter, Pachymetric Indices, and Ectasia Indices for the Assessment of Fuchs Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy.

Cornea·2024

Area of Science:

  • Ophthalmology
  • Corneal Science
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • Keratoconus is a progressive thinning disorder of the cornea.
  • Keratocytes are the primary stromal cells of the cornea, crucial for maintaining its structure and clarity.
  • Contact lens wear is common among keratoconus patients, but its effect on corneal cell density is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify and compare keratocyte density in the corneas of patients with keratoconus versus healthy controls.
  • To investigate the influence of contact lens wear on keratocyte density in both keratoconus and control groups.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective, observational cohort study involving 19 patients with keratoconus and 19 age-matched controls.
  • Confocal microscopy was used to image the full-thickness central cornea.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Keratocyte nuclei were manually counted in clear images, and cell densities were compared between groups and across stromal layers.

    • Main Results:

    • Keratocyte density was 19% lower in keratoconus patients who wore contact lenses compared to those who did not.
    • In contact lens wearers, keratoconus corneas showed a 25% reduction in keratocyte density compared to control corneas (P =.002).
    • This reduction was significant in the anterior stroma and specific posterior stromal layers (0-10%, 67-90%, 91-100%).

    Conclusions:

    • Keratocyte density is significantly decreased in the anterior and posterior stroma of keratoconus patients who wear contact lenses.
    • Contact lens wear appears to exacerbate the reduction in keratocyte density in keratoconus.
    • These findings suggest a potential mechanism for altered corneal biomechanics in contact lens-wearing keratoconus patients.