Photo Credit: Sruilk

The following is a summary of “Impact of standard cross-linking on the corneal optical density–age relationship in keratoconus after mechanical stripping of the epithelium,” published in the October 2024 issue of Ophthalmology by Bohac et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to determine cross-linking (CXL) treatment altering any pre-existing association between corneal optical density (COD) and age in keratoconus without corneal scarring.  

They monitored COD in 2 groups: before and after standard CXL treatment for keratoconus (de-epithelization with a crescent blade, n = 69 eyes) and in age- and gender-matched cases without the signs of keratoconus (n = 24 eyes), 7 different COD markers were measured using a 0–100 grey scale provided by Pentacam™ software.  

The results showed that the mean age (± standard deviation, range) in Group I (19 females and 50 males) was 24.2 years (±7.2, 11–44), while in Group II (9 females and 15 males), it was 24.7 years (±7.6, 17–45), COD over the apex and along the corneal depth (y, arbitrary scale units) was correlated with age (x, in years) in Group I at pre-operation (y = 0.08x + 13.12, r_s= 0.350 and P = 0.003), and 12 months post-operation (y = 0.08x + 15.15, r_s = 0.295 and P = 0.014). In Group II, the COD was related to age both at baseline (y = 0.16x + 11.28, r_s= 0.474 and P = 0.019) and 12 months later (y = 0.24x + 8.63, r_s = 0.600 and P = 0.002). The change in COD after CXL was significantly linked to the pre-operative COD value.  

They concluded CXL initially disrupted the pre-existing relationship between COD and age, which was restored by 12 months postoperatively, with the CXL-induced change in COD depending on preoperative values rather than age. 

Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1155/2024/8827837