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Updated: Mar 25, 2026
Author Spotlight: Advancing Research in Corneal Opacity Treatment and Regeneration
Published on: August 4, 2023
Changes in corneal Langerhans cell density during the first few hours of contact lens wear
Yahya Alzahrani1, Nicola Pritchard1, Nathan Efron1
1Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, and School of Optometry and Vision Science, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Australia.
Purpose:
To determine the impact of contact lens wear on Langerhans cell density (LCD) in the central cornea over an 8h period.
Methods:
Ten participants wore a hydrogel lens in one eye (the experimental eye) for 8h. The contralateral non-lens-wearing eye served as a control. The central cornea of each eye was examined at the level of the subbasal nerve plexus using a laser scanning corneal confocal microscope, at baseline (prior to lens wear), then every 2h for 8h.
Results:
At baseline, LCD was 18±19 and 20±19 cells/mm(2) in the experimental and control eyes, respectively. In the experimental eye, LCD increased to 36±32 cells/mm(2) after 2h and then decreased gradually to 30±31 cells/mm(2) after 6h. LCD was greater in the experimental eye than the control eye at the 2, 4, 6 and 8h time points (p<0.05). LCD remained constant in the control eye throughout the 8h experiment.
Conclusions:
LCD increases two-fold within the first 2h of lens wear, indicating a rapid, sub-clinical inflammatory response to uncomplicated lens wear.
