Electron microscopic findings in corneal epithelial basement membrane degeneration

In an attempt to correlate basement membrane changes with clinical symptoms we examined 29 specimens from 28 patients who had undergone corneal epithelial basement membranectomy for corneal epithelial basement membrane degeneration (CEBMD). Twenty-two of the 28 patients were women. Recurrent erosion was the most frequent symptom and occurred in 24 of the 29 eyes. The most common electron microscopic finding was reduplication of the basement membrane with loculated connective tissue. The electron microscopic finding that predicted clinical symptoms was absence of the basement membrane and hemidesmosomes, which occurred in 4 eyes with severe recurrent erosion.