Age-Related Changes in Corneal Epithelial Thickness Measured with an Ultrasound Pachymeter.

Background: There is increasing research on the aging process of the cornea and its effect on the corneal parameters measured objectively. Nevertheless, the association of corneal epithelial thickness (CET) with age has yet to be fully illustrated. Purpose: We aimed to measure CET in healthy subjects to determine its age-related variation by using an ultrasound device. Patients and Methods: A total of one hundred and three subjects were enrolled in this study and grouped according to age: Group < 30 years, 31-40 years, 41-50 years, 51-60 years, 61-70 years, and > 71 years. The CET and total central corneal thickness (CCT) of each subject were measured by the Sonogage Corneo-Gage Plus 2 (Cleveland, Ohio) ultrasound pachymeter. The relationships between thickness values, laterality, age groups, and gender were analyzed using the Jonckheere-Terpstra test. The Partial correlation test was employed to assess the effect of age on the CET and CCT. Results: The mean CET was 47.88±1.15µm, with no statistically significant gender-related difference between right and left eyes. In addition, the CCT difference detected between female and male eyes was insignificant. The difference in mean CET across age groups was statistically significant (p =0.029). The difference in mean CET of left eyes across age groups was statistically significant (p=0.031). The mean CET and left CET of the oldest group were significantly thinner than the younger groups. Conclusion: Ultrasound pachymeter of the corneal epithelium demonstrated that there was no correlation between age and CCT, or gender. The CET becomes thinner with age in the central zone in both genders and there is no difference between males and females. Based on these results, age has a negative effect on CET. These findings could offer further insight into age-related changes in the cornea.

Correlation between corneal thickness, keratometry, age, and differential pressure difference in healthy eyes.

To determine the use of differential pressure difference (DPD), in air-puff differential tonometry, as a potential biomechanical measure of the cornea and elucidate its relationship with the intraocular pressure (IOP), central corneal thickness, corneal curvature, and age. This study comprised 396 eyes from 198 patients and was conducted at Acibadem University, School of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology, Istanbul, Turkey. The central corneal curvature and refraction of the eyes were measured using an Auto Kerato-Refractometer (KR-1; Topcon Corporation, Tokyo, Japan). IOP and central corneal thickness were measured using a tono-pachymeter (CT-1P; Topcon Corporation, Tokyo, Japan), wherein two separate readings of IOP were obtained using two different modes: 1-30 and 1-60. The difference between these two readings was recorded as the DPD. The factors affecting the DPD were determined by stepwise multiple linear regression analysis. DPD varied over a dynamic range of - 3.0 to + 5.0 mmHg and was weakly correlated with the central corneal thickness (r = 0.115, p < 0.05). DPD showed no significant correlation with IOP 1-30 (p > 0.05). A weak but statistically significant (p < 0.05) positive correlation of DPD was observed with age (r = 0.123), Kavg (r = 0.102), and the CCT (r = 0.115). There was a significant correlation between DPD and Kavg, CCT, and age. There was no significant correlation between DPD and IOP 1-30. Age-related changes in the corneal ultrastructure may be a plausible explanation for the weak positive association between age and DPD. The proposed method may prove a valid non-invasive tool for the evaluation of corneal biomechanics and introduce DPD in the decision-making of routine clinical practice.

Potential role of Müller cells in the pathogenesis of macropsia associated with epiretinal membrane: a hypothesis revisited.

Pathophysiological explanations for metamorphopsia associated with retinal pathologies generally focus on photoreceptor organization disruption. However, the retinal microarchitecture is complicated, and we hypothesize that other retinal cells may also be involved. Metamorphopsia has been widely studied in eyes with epiretinal membranes and we revisit the idea that Müller cell displacement causes retinal macropsia. A PubMed query and related article search for the macula ultrastructure under normal and pathological conditions revealed an enormous amount of information, particularly ultrahigh definition optical coherence tomography and other retinal imaging modality studies. Findings of these imaging studies support our hypothesis that Müller cells, and not cone photoreceptors, are primarily responsible for macropsia in eyes with epiretinal membranes. More specifically, we conclude that displacement of Müller cell endfeet, and not photoreceptor cones, is a more likely the explanation for retinal macropsia associated with epiretinal membranes.

Shallow Anterior Chamber in a Severe Case of Unilateral Acute Central Serous Retinal Detachment.

BACKGROUND: Atypical serous chorioretinopathy can present with symptoms similar to those of other pachychoroid diseases; however, a proper differential diagnosis will prevent unnecessary intensive treatments. To this end, we report on the shallowness of anterior chamber and transitory anterior vitreous cells in a patient with atypical severe serous retinal detachment. CASE PRESENTATION: A 42-year-old woman presented with unilateral visual loss accompanied by mild, vague eye pain for 4 days. Spectral-domain OCT scans of the left eye showed macular and peripapillary serous detachment. Optical biometry showed the clinically significant shallow anterior chamber. CONCLUSIONS: Severe central serous chorioretinopathy can show up in an atypical fashion with macular, extramacular, juxtapapillary serous detachments, temporary existence of anterior vitreous cells, clinically detectable decreased anterior chamber depth, and mild eye pain of short duration.