Abstract
Purpose :
The purpose of this research is to verify if vitamin D3 is related to keratoconus, through its tear and plasma levels
Methods :
In this study, the plasma and tear levels of 22 individuals with keratoconus in both eyes and 36 individuals without eye disease (control group) were evaluated The tear was collected using the Schirmer tape in the 44 eyes with keratoconus and in the 76 eyes of the control group; for plasma examination, 3 milliliters of venous blood were collected from all participants in this study. All blood and tear samples had their vitamin D3 levels assessed, by their metabolite 25 (OH) vitamin D3, by electrochemiluminescence examination, and statistical analysis was performed by the Chi-square test.
Results :
In the group of individuals with keratoconus, the average verified level of vitamin D in the tear was 68.76 ng / ml, ranging from 57.5 to 83.8 ng / ml whereas in all tear samples in the control group, the levels were above 100 ng / ml, the upper limit of detection of the electrochemiluminescence apparatus, with p <0.0001. In blood samples, the mean found in the group of individuals with keratoconus was 21.92 ng / ml, while in the control group it was 29.68 ng / ml, with p <0.05
Conclusions :
The results of vitamin D3 tests were significantly lower both in plasma and, especially, in tears, in eyes with keratoconus compared to eyes without eye diseases, thereby demonstrating the important relationship of vitamin D3 levels in keratoconus.
This is a 2020 Imaging in the Eye Conference abstract.