Dongqing Zhao

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the heritability of corneal parameters obtained by Pentacam in nuclear families with keratoconus (KC). Methods: A total of 82 patients with KC and their biological parents (n = 164) were recruited in the current study. All subjects underwent corneal tomography with Pentacam. Family units were analyzed to calculate the heritability of corneal parameters by linear mixed effects model using the R statistical software. Results: The pachymetry at apex, pupil, and thinnest point were all significantly heritable at 43.26%, 42.63%, and 43.09%, respectively. The heritability of flat meridian keratometry, steep meridian keratometry, and mean keratometry in the anterior surface were 10.36%, 9.05%, and 10.21%, respectively, and that of flat meridian keratometry, steep meridian keratometry, and mean keratometry in the posterior surface were 8.44%, 9.67%, and 9.06%, respectively. The posterior radius of curvature had higher heritability in comparison with anterior radius of curvature (19.16% vs. 14.37%). Moreover, among combined topometric indices, the heritability of index of vertical asymmetry was the highest (19.49%), and that of central keratoconus index was the lowest (6.64%). Conclusions: The present study demonstrated a substantial heritability of corneal parameters in nuclear families with KC. The pachymetric indices are heritable and may be suitable as KC endophenotypes, suggesting a necessity to discover the genes associated with corneal thickness in KC. Translational Relevance: The pachymetric indices are heritable and may be suitable as KC endophenotypes, indicating that the pachymetric indices might be a corneal characteristic to predict the occurrence of KC.

Purpose. The present study investigated the prevalence of keratoconus (KC) among first-degree relatives of KC patients in Central China. Methods. From July 2018 to March 2022, 661 first-degree relatives of 384 KC patients were included in the present study. Corneal tomography, uncorrected distance visual acuity, manifest refraction with corrected distance visual acuity, intraocular pressure, slit-lamp microscopy, and fundus examination were performed. The diagnosis of KC was based on the Belin/Ambrosio enhanced ectasia total deviation value (BAD-D value) on the Pentacam® system (Oculus GmbH). BAD-D value Results. The present study included 337 (50.98) female and 324 (49.02) male subjects. The prevalence of KC and suspected KC in first-degree relatives was 8.77 (n=58) and 29.05 (n=192), respectively. The prevalence of KC was 9.70 among parents and 7.23 among siblings. Conclusions. The higher prevalence of KC among first-degree relatives of patients with KC suggests that first-degree relatives of KC are at high risk of developing KC.

The research status and hotspots in the field of corneal cross linking (CXL) can benefit clinicians, researchers and the general public.The purpose of this study was to map the publishing trend on ...

To evaluate the repeatability of corneal biomechanical parameters in normal and keratoconus eyes, and explore factors that affects the repeatability, and further assess the diagnostic ability of new parameters. Seventy-seven keratoconus eyes of 47 patients and 77 right eyes of 77 normal subjects were recruited in current study. All participants received three repeated measurements with 2 to 5 minutes interval. The interclass correlation coefficient (ICC), Cronbach’ α and repeatability coefficient (RC) were evaluated. The liner regression analysis was used to identify factors that affect the repeatability, and linear mixed effects model was performed to compare the parameters differences. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic ability of new parameters. Eighteen parameters in normal eyes and twenty-two parameters in keratoconus eyes showed excellent repeatability (ICC ≥ 0.90). Age, axial measurement (AL), spherical equivalent, astigmatism, gender, mean keratometry (Kmean), intraocular pressure (IOP) and central corneal thickness (CCT) could affect the repeatability of new Corvis ST parameters. Compared with normal eyes, the Ambrósio’s Relational Thickness horizontal (ARTh), biomechanical corrected IOP (bIOP), stiffness parameter at first applanation (SP A1) were low and the Max Inverse Radius, deformation amplitude (DA) Ratio Max [2 mm], Pachy Slope, DA Ratio Max [1 mm], Integrated Radius and Corvis Biomechanical Index (CBI) were high in keratoconus eyes (All P < 0.05). Both ARTh and CBI had high Youden index (0.870), and the corresponding cut-off values were 379.29 and 0.44. The repeatability of Corvis ST parameters was acceptable both in normal and keratoconus eyes, and new parameters could effectively diagnose keratoconus eyes from normal eyes.