Corneal Endothelial Changes in Behçet's Patients with Inactive Ocular Involvement

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Immunology
• Cell Biology

Background:

• Behçet's disease (BD) is a multisystem inflammatory disorder.
• Ocular involvement is common in BD, potentially leading to vision loss.
• The corneal endothelium's role in BD pathogenesis requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate changes in the corneal endothelial layer of Behçet's disease patients with inactive ocular involvement.
• To compare corneal endothelial parameters between BD patients and healthy controls using specular microscopy.

Main Methods:

• Specular microscopy was used to assess corneal endothelial cell density (CD), coefficient of variation (CV), hexagonal cell ratio (HEX), and central corneal thickness (CCT).
• The study included 33 eyes of 33 BD patients with a history of ocular inflammation but no active inflammation in the past 3 months.
• A control group of 33 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects was also analyzed.

Main Results:

• BD patients exhibited significantly lower corneal endothelial cell density (CD) compared to controls (2739 vs. 2922 cells/mm²; p=0.001).
• BD patients showed a higher coefficient of variation (CV) (32.9 vs. 28.5; p=0.001) and a lower hexagonal cell ratio (HEX) (44.7 vs. 49.7; p=0.019) in their corneal endothelium.
• No significant difference in central corneal thickness (CCT) was observed between the groups (p>0.05).

Conclusions:

• Past ocular inflammatory attacks in Behçet's disease may lead to lasting alterations in the corneal endothelium.
• Despite observed endothelial changes, corneal decompensation was not evident in this cohort.
• Further research is warranted to elucidate the long-term implications of these endothelial alterations in BD.