Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Feb 1;31(2):123-128.
doi: 10.1097/IJG.0000000000001909.

Corneal Endothelial Changes in Patients With Primary Congenital Glaucoma

Nevbahar Tamçelik  1 , Bilge Batu Oto  1 , Burak Mergen  2 , Oğuzhan Kiliçarslan  1 , Busenur Gönen  1 , Ceyhun Arici  1
Affiliations

Corneal Endothelial Changes in Patients With Primary Congenital Glaucoma

Nevbahar Tamçelik et al. J Glaucoma. .

Abstract

Prcis: Specular microscopic parameters were found to be decreased in patients with primary congenital glaucoma (PCG). Patients with PCG and Haab striae had lower endothelial cell density (ECD) and central corneal thickness (CCT) than those without Haab striae did. The type of surgery (viscogoniotomy, viscotrabeculotomy, or combined viscotrabeculotomy and trabeculectomy) did not affect specular microscopic parameters.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare specular microscopic parameters such as corneal ECD, coefficient of variation (CV), hexagonal cell percentage (HEX), and CCT between patients with PCG and healthy controls; to determine the predictive ability of Haab striae for endothelial cell changes PCG by comparing patients with and without Haab striae; and to investigate if the type of surgery used to treat glaucoma (viscogoniotomy, viscotrabeculotomy, or combined viscotrabeculotomy and trabeculectomy) affects specular microscopic parameters.

Methods: A cross-sectional specular microscopic analysis of patients with PCG and healthy controls was performed. One hundred eyes of 62 patients with PCG with and without Haab striae and 101 eyes of 101 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Specular microscopic parameters, including ECD, HEX, CV, and CCT, of all subjects were evaluated.

Results: Patients with PCG showed significantly lower ECD and CCT than healthy controls did. Those with Haab striae had lower ECD and CCT but no differences in age, HEX, and CV compared with those without Haab striae. ECD, CV, HEX, or CCT did not significantly differ among patients treated with the 3 different types of surgery.

Conclusions: Prolonged exposure to elevated intraocular pressure during prenatal and/or early postnatal life results in structural changes in immature infant corneas. Specular microscopic parameters differed significantly between healthy controls and patients with PCG. The type of surgery had no effect on these parameters. Among patients with PCG, those with Haab striae had isolated corneal endothelial cell loss without morphologic changes within the endothelium.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Tamçelik N, Atalay E, Bolukbasi S, et al. Demographic features of subjects with congenital glaucoma. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2014;62:565–569.
    1. Benito-Pascual B, Pascual-Prieto J, Martínez-de-la-Casa JM, et al. Haab striae: optical coherence tomographic analysis. J Fr Ophtalmol. 2019;42:11–15.
    1. Wenzel M, Krippendorff U, Hunold W, et al. Schäden des Hornhautendothels bei kongenitalen und juvenilen Glaukomen [Corneal endothelial damage in congenital and juvenile glaucoma]. Klin Monbl Augenheilkd. 1989;195:344–348.
    1. Henriques MJ, Vessani RM, Costa Reis FA, et al. Corneal thickness in congenital glaucoma. J Glaucoma. 2004;13:185–188.
    1. Wygnanski-Jaffe T, Barequet IS. Central corneal thickness in congenital glaucoma. Cornea. 2006;25:923–925.