Specular Microscopic Features In Cystinosis Patients

The aim of this study was to evaluate corneal endothelium in cystinosis patients using specular microscopy.

Nigde Omer Halisdemir University, Department of Ophthalmology, Nigde, Turkey

Sixteen eyes of 8 patients with cystinosis and 20 eyes of 10 healthy subjects were evaluated. Corneal endothelial cell density (ECD) (cells/mm2), central corneal thickness (CCT) (μm), hexagonal cell (HEX, %) and coefficient of variation (CV, standard deviation of cell area/average cell area) were analyzed by specular microscopy.

The mean age was 13.7±2.9 years in the patient group (6 males, 2 females) and 15.3±4.1 years in the control group (7 males, 3 females). The groups were similar in terms of age and gender (p=0.361 and p=0.814). Mean visual acuity was 0.05±0.02 logMAR in the patient group and 0.0 logMAR in the control group. The groups were similar in terms of visual acuity (p=0.913). CCT was significantly increased in the patient group compared to the control group (p=0.011). Furthermore, ECD (p=0.022) and HEX (p=0.008) were significantly lower in the patient group compared to the control group. The coefficient of variation was similar between groups (p=0.120).

Corneal endothelial cell counts and structure were significantly different in cystinosis patients compared to the control group.