Abstract
Presentation Description :
Limbal stem cells (LSCs) maintain the normal homeostasis and wound healing of corneal epithelium. Limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) is a pathologic condition that results from an insufficient amount of LSCs. Methods to stage the severity of LSCD have been lacking. Using newly developed ocular imaging modalities, such as in vivo confocal laser scanning microscopy and anterior segment OCT, microstructural changes including subbasal nerve density, epithelial thickness and basal cell density in the central cornea and limbus have been found to correlate with the degree of LSCD and precede the clinical signs of LSCD. There are limitations of anterior segment OCT in imaging the limbus. Quantitative criteria for the staging of LSCD can be established using these quantifiable parameters.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.