Introduction In recent years, reduced corneal biomechanics have been identified as an important element in the pathogenesis of various corneal diseases. The biomechanical characteristics of a connective tissue such as strength and resistance against mechanical stress are indispensable prerequisites to maintain regular shape and function of that tissue. Intraand intermolecular cross-links betwee...

IMPORTANCE It is unknown whether a neurotrophic deficit or pathologic nerve morphology persists in keratoconus in the long term after corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) treatment. Nerve pathology could impact long-term corneal status in patients with keratoconus. OBJECTIVE To determine whether CXL treatment of keratoconus results in normalization of subbasal nerve density and architecture u...

BACKGROUND Corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) is the only treatment currently available to arrest the progression of keratoconus. The procedure consists of photopolymerization of stromal collagen fibers induced by combined action of a photosensitizing substance (riboflavin or vitamin B2) and ultraviolet-A light. PURPOSE To determine changes in the ocular higher-order aberrations (HOAs) afte...

PURPOSE To assess and compare preoperative refractive, aberrometric, topographic, and contrast sensitivity (CS) measurements with postoperative values after corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) in patients with progressive keratoconus. METHODS Twenty-two eyes of 11 patients with keratoconus were enrolled in this prospective study. Uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), best spectacle corr...

Keratoconus is a non-inflammatory corneal dystrophy in which the cornea deforms due to thinning and protrusion. The biomechanical strength of the cornea depends on the lamellar organization of the collagen fibers that comprise the corneal stroma, regulated by an interconnecting network of proteoglycans. Although the pathogenesis of keratoconus remains unclear, it appears that a primary event le...

To the Editor: Some patients with keratoconus have poor corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) associated with high refractive errors. According to our treatment protocol,1 the best approach for these cases is intracorneal ring segments (ICRS) implantation (usually one segment) to improve CDVA followed by corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) treatment 4 weeks later to stabilize the cornea and ...

PURPOSE The safety and efficacy of corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) and topography-guided photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) using a different sequence and timing were evaluated in consecutive keratoconus cases. METHODS This study included a total of 325 eyes with keratoconus. Eyes were divided into two groups. The first group (n=127 eyes) underwent CXL with subsequent topography-guided PR...

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of corneal cross-linking combined with photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) on blurring strength. METHODS A total of 63 patients with keratoconus were recruited for this study, and two study groups were formed according to the therapeutic intervention: corneal collagen cross-linking (CxL) group (33 patients) received corneal cross-linking ...

The aim of the present study was to compare the clinical outcomes of conventional corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) and pulsed-light accelerated CXL (pl-ACXL) in the eyes of patients with progressive keratoconus. A total of 72 eyes with progressive keratoconus in 58 patients were equally divided into the CXL and pl-ACXL treatment groups. The CXL treatment was performed using the UVX 1000 sys...