In a new article posted in the January 2014 edition of Eye. An interesting retrospective study was done looking at different factors that affect the outcomes of corneal collagen cross-linking. Corneal Cross-Linking is a very successful procedure that is done to help stop the progression of Keratoconus. In this study they observed the outcomes of patients and evaluated how different factors such as age, gender, pre-operative visual acuity, and the pre-operative steepness of the cornea affected post- operative visual acuity and post-operative steepness of the cornea. This study involved 96 eyes of 96 patients. Some interesting correlations they found were that younger patients (patients under the age of 30) had better visual outcomes post surgery, where older patients (over the age of 30) had a greater decrease in the steepness (k’s) of the cornea creating a better flattening effect. Gender had no correlation with any significant difference. Another interesting correlation that was found was that the worse the vision of the patient the greater difference in the vision post surgery. Additionally the thinner the cornea’s before surgery the better flattening affect that occurred.
It is always interesting to look at these correlations, if you are interested in looking at the article look for “Factors Affecting Outcomes of Corneal Collagen Crosslinking Treatment” by I. Toprak, V. Yaylali, and C. Yildirim. Eye(2014) 28, 41-46; doi:10.1038/eye.2013.224; published online 18 October 2013.