Abstract
Purpose :
Higher rates of corneal inflammation are reported during contact lens wear in patients in the 15-25 year old age group. This study investigated whether differences in corneal inflammatory Langerhans cells present in this group were related to age or contact lens wear.
Methods :
Forty participants aged 16-36 years were recruited for this cross-sectional observational pilot study. Twenty contact lens wearers (15 wore soft lenses on a daily wear schedule, 5 wore orthokeratology lenses overnight) and 20 non-wearers. Exclusion criteria included active corneal infection or inflammation and dry eye. Images of the corneal sub-basal epithelium were taken using in vivo confocal microscopy (HRTII with Rosctock corneal module). Langerhans cells were manually counted within a 1mm2 area at both the central and mid-peripheral temporal cornea. LC morphology was graded using a grading scale.
Results :
LC density in the central cornea (19±25 cells/mm2) and in the mid-periphery (14±12 cells/mm2) was not significantly different. There were no regional differences in LC morphology. Central and mid-peripheral LC density was strongly correlated (��=0.73, P<0.001), but there was no such association for LC morphology. Age or contact lens wear did not affect these relationships. In both corneal regions, higher LC density was associated with more mature LC morphology (C ��=0.44, P=0.004; MP ��=0.36, P=0.03). Age was not associated with LC density or morphology and this relationship was not altered by contact lens wear. There were no differences in LC density or morphology between contact lens wearers and non-wearers, nor between soft contact lens and orthokeratology wearers. A greater proportion of more mature LC phenotypes was observed in the non-wearers.
Conclusions :
Corneal Langerhans cells do not appear to be influenced by age or contact lens wear in this healthy young population. Exploration in a larger cohort and during inflammatory events is required to understand the role of Langerhans cells in contact lens related inflammation in this at-risk population.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.