Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science Cover Image for Volume 57, Issue 12
September 2016
Volume 57, Issue 12
Open Access
ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract  |   September 2016
Ultrastructural Study of lamellar organization of Peripheral and Central Stroma of Keratoconus Cornea
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • Aljoharah Alkanaan
    Salus University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
    King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Omar Kirat
    King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Robert Barsotti
    Salus University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
  • Turki Almubrad
    King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Adnan Khan
    King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Saeed Akhtar
    King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Footnotes
    Commercial Relationships   Aljoharah Alkanaan, None; Omar Kirat, None; Robert Barsotti, None; Turki Almubrad, None; Adnan Khan, None; Saeed Akhtar, None
  • Footnotes
    Support  None
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science September 2016, Vol.57, 2895. doi:
  • Views
  • Share
  • Tools
    • Alerts
      ×
      This feature is available to authenticated users only.
      Sign In or Create an Account ×
    • Get Citation

      Aljoharah Alkanaan, Omar Kirat, Robert Barsotti, Turki Almubrad, Adnan Khan, Saeed Akhtar; Ultrastructural Study of lamellar organization of Peripheral and Central Stroma of Keratoconus Cornea. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2016;57(12):2895.

      Download citation file:


      © ARVO (1962-2015); The Authors (2016-present)

      ×
  • Supplements
Abstract

Purpose : Keratoconus (KC) is a progressive bilateral asymmetrical corneal disorder characterized by localized corneal thinning and conical protrusion, leading to high myopia, irregular astigmatism, corneal scarring and visual impairment. In this study we assess the lamellar organization of the peripheral and central stroma of the KC and normal cornea.

Methods : Three normal and three keratoconus corneas were fixed in 2.5% glutaraldehyde and post fixed in the osmium tetroxide. The tissue were dehydrated in a graded series of ethanol and processed for electron microscopy. The Ultrathin sections were observed under JOEL 1400 TEM and digital images were taken with a bottom mounted 11 megapixel Quamisa camera, using iTEM software. Measurement of lamellae were carried out with iTEM software. Statistics were performed using the SPSS programme.

Results : In the central part of the KC cornea, undulation of the lamellae was observed in the anterior, middle and posterior stroma whereas in the peripheral part, the undulation was observed in middle and the posterior stroma. Collagen fibrils were disorganized and of variable size in the undulating lamellae. Electron dense granular material was present among the collagen fibrils.
Mean lamellar thickness of the peripheral (752.79±31.98nm) and central (828.76±25.75nm) stroma of KC cornea was significantly (P〈 0.001) thinner than the peripheral (1928.90±108.13nm) and central (1330.10±85.07 nm) stroma of the normal cornea. Among the KC cornea, the mean lamellar thickness of the peripheral middle (1030.32±86.25nm) and posterior (615.68±30.94nm) stroma were also significantly (P〈0.05) different from the central middle (1151.1±65.48nm) and posterior 783.57±31.10nm) stroma. However the mean lamellar thickness of the anterior stroma did not differ significantly between the periphery (686.84±46.47nm) and center (600.84±25.10 nm) of KC cornea (P=0.558).
In both the normal and KC cornea, the number of lamellae in the central stroma (296,241) was consistently less than that in the peripheral stroma (360 in both normal and KC corneas).

Conclusions : The results of this study shows that KC pathological changes to the lamellar organization is not limited to the central stroma but rather extends to affect the lamellae within the peripheral stroma.

This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.

×
×

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

Sign in or purchase a subscription to access this content. ×

You must be signed into an individual account to use this feature.

×