Abstract
Purpose: :
To evaluate the stromal corneal nerves differences between normal patients and keratoconus patients.
Methods: :
50 eyes of 25 normal patients (group A) and 36 eyes of 44 keratoconus patients (group B) were examined with the confocal microscope (Confoscan 4, Fortune Technologies, Italy), a central scan of the total corneal thickness was taken. Corneal stromal nerves morphology and thickness were evaluated by using the Navis v. 3.5.0. Software (NIDEK, Multi-Instrument Diagnostic System, Japan). Nerve thickness was obtained from the mean between the widest and the narrowest portion of each stromal nerve.
Results: :
Corneal stromal nerves were observed as irregular linear hiper-reflective structures with widest and narrowest portions in all cases. Mean corneal stromal nerves thickness in group A was 5.94 ± 1.7 range from 3.4 to 10.5 microns, mean corneal stromal nerves thickness in group B was 7.2 ± 1.9 range from 3.5 to 12.0 microns. There was a statistical significant difference (P .<0001) in stromal corneal thickness between group A and group B.
Conclusions: :
Stromal corneal nerves morphology was similar in both groups, but stromal nerves were thicker in keratoconus patients.
Keywords: cornea: stroma and keratocytes • nerve fiber layer • imaging/image analysis: clinical