Evaluation of the reproducibility of corneal densitometry measurements in keratoconus eyes

• Grant number: 17/17129-7
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): December 01, 2017
• Effective date (End): July 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Medical Clinics
• Principal researcher: Cinara de Cássia Brandão
• Grantee: Sander Glauco Melo Vieira
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto (FAMERP). Secretaria de Desenvolvimento Econômico (São Paulo - Estado). São José do Rio Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Keratoconus is a common degenerative disease that affects the cornea, affecting both genders in all ethnic groups and that can manifest uni or bilaterally in the patients; Its progression can be rapid in several situations and affects 1 in 2,000 people, resulting in severe structural alterations of the cornea, decreasing the thickness and modifying the curvature from normal to conical. Keratoconus arises in adolescence and lasts for thirty to forty years, where it stabilizes and is considered the major cause of corneal transplantation. Factors such as atopy, overuse of contact lenses and the act of rubbing the eyes are also related to the disease. The clinical picture is composed of very varied symptoms and depends on the progression stage of the disease, as well as genetic and environmental factors are involved in the onset of this disease. New technologies were developed for the detection of clinical and subclinical keratoconus with the objective of screening in refractive surgery, such as the Pentacam, which provide three-dimensional maps, the anterior and posterior surfaces of the cornea, pachymetry and Features of the anterior chamber of the eye; Pentacam helps to diagnose keratoconus. Unlike other methods, Pentacam data do not depend on a reference or guiding axis being more accurate to represent the actual shape of the cornea by enhancing the elevations by making them more evident, thus enabling earlier detection of the initial or subclinical keratoconus. Thus, in the present study, we intend to evaluate clinically the patients with this pathology, in their uni and bilateral forms. The results obtained will allow a better knowledge of this pathology and provide data to aid the anamnesis, and that can offer subsidies for the characterization of the dynamics of its patterns in the origin and development of keratoconus. (AU)