Ultrastructural study of non-traumatic recurrent corneal erosion.

The recurrent epithelial erosion syndrome of the cornea is a common disorder; it usually follows specific trauma to the cornea, though it may present without such a history. It may sometimes be inherited or may occur in association with inherited corneal dystrophies (Duke-Elder and Leigh, I965; Griffith and Fine, I967). Clinically, the patient presents with symptoms of a sharp pain on opening the eyes in the morning followed by watering, photophobia, and a variable degree of blurring of vision. Cystic changes within the epithelium are recognized biomicroscopical features. This may be associated with a slight lifting, linear cracks, or frank loss of epithelium which gives the condition its name. Our knowledge of the aetiopathogenesis of this disorder is, however, limited. In cases precipitated by trauma, it has been suggested that the basement membrane over the traumatized area of the cornea is defective (Goldman, Dohlman, and Kravitt, I969; Khodadoust, Silverstein, Kenyon, and Dowling, I968). The purpose of this paper is to report for the first time the ultrastructural features of epithelial biopsies taken from a case of bilateral recurrent erosion syndrome of non-traumatic origin.