The influence of pseudoexfoliative syndrome on corneal morphology based on in vivo confocal microscopy

Confocal microscopy is a modern examination method, which provides in real-time mode a noninvasive in vivo imaging of the cornea, limb, and conjunctiva. Purpose. To evaluate main morphological changes observed by confocal microscopy in patients with pseudoexfoliation (PEX) syndrome. Methods. 21 patients were examined. 12 patients with PEX syndrome were enrolled as the main group, and 9 patients without PEX - as controls. Results. In patients with PEX, there was a decreased cell density in the epithelium and the stroma of the cornea, as well as a lot of hyperreflective intercellular microdeposits and dendritic cells (p < 0.05).

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Cellular morphological changes detected by laser scanning in vivo confocal microscopy associated with clinical outcome in fungal keratitis

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-019-44833-9 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jaya D. Chidambaram ◽

Namperumalsamy V. Prajna ◽

Srikanthi Palepu ◽

Shruti Lanjewar ◽

Manisha Shah ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Confocal Microscopy ◽

Clinical Outcome ◽

Laser Scanning ◽

Morphological Changes ◽

Fungal Keratitis ◽

In Vivo Confocal Microscopy

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Corneal Stroma Cell Density Evolution in Keratoconus Corneas Following the Implantation of Adipose Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Corneal Laminas: An In Vivo Confocal Microscopy Study

Investigative Opthalmology & Visual Science ◽

10.1167/iovs.61.4.22 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 61 (4) ◽

pp. 22

Author(s):

Mona El Zarif ◽

Karim A. Jawad ◽

Jorge L. Alió Del Barrio ◽

Ziad A. Jawad ◽

Antonio Palazón-Bru ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Mesenchymal Stem Cells ◽

Confocal Microscopy ◽

Cell Density ◽

Corneal Stroma ◽

Microscopy Study ◽

In Vivo Confocal Microscopy ◽

Density Evolution ◽

Adipose Mesenchymal Stem Cells

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Evaluation of Corneal Nerves and Dendritic Cells By in Vivo Confocal Microscopy After Descemet’s Membrane Keratoplasty For Bullous Keratopathy

10.21203/rs.3.rs-1197425/v1 ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Takahiko Hayashi ◽

Atsuyuki Ishida ◽

Akira Kobayashi ◽

Takefumi Yamaguchi ◽

Nobuhisa Mizuki ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dendritic Cells ◽

Confocal Microscopy ◽

Bullous Keratopathy ◽

Dependent Manner ◽

In Vivo Confocal Microscopy ◽

Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty ◽

Corneal Nerves ◽

Corneal Nerve ◽

Number Of Branches

Abstract This study evaluated changes in corneal nerves and the number of dendritic cells (DCs) in corneal basal epithelium following Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) surgery for bullous keratopathy (BK). Twenty-three eyes from 16 consecutive patients that underwent DMEK for BK were included. Eyes of age-matched patients that underwent pre-cataract surgery (12 eyes) were used as controls. In vivo confocal microscopy was performed pre- and postoperatively at 6, 12, and 24 months. Corneal nerve length, corneal nerve trunks, number of branches, and the number of DCs were determined. The total corneal nerve length of 1634.7 ± 1389.1 μm /mm2 before surgery was significantly increased in a time-dependent manner to 4485.8 ± 1403.7 μm /mm2, 6949.5 ± 1477.1 μm /mm2, and 9389.2 ± 2302.2 μm /mm2 at 6, 12, and 24 months after DMEK surgery, respectively. The DC density in BK cornea pre- and postoperatively at 6 months was significantly higher than in the controls, and decreased postoperatively at 12 and 24 months and was significantly lower than that at 6 months postoperatively. Thus, our results suggest that DMEK can repair and normalize the corneal environment.

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A deep transfer learning framework for the automated assessment of corneal inflammation on in vivo confocal microscopy images

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0252653 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (6) ◽

pp. e0252653

Author(s):

Fan Xu ◽

Yikun Qin ◽

Wenjing He ◽

Guangyi Huang ◽

Jian Lv ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dendritic Cells ◽

Confocal Microscopy ◽

Transfer Learning ◽

Inflammatory Cells ◽

Computer Assisted ◽

In Vivo Confocal Microscopy ◽

Learning Models ◽

Corneal Inflammation ◽

Microscopy Images

Purpose Infiltration of activated dendritic cells and inflammatory cells in cornea represents an important marker for defining corneal inflammation. Deep transfer learning has presented a promising potential and is gaining more importance in computer assisted diagnosis. This study aimed to develop deep transfer learning models for automatic detection of activated dendritic cells and inflammatory cells using in vivo confocal microscopy images. Methods A total of 3453 images was used to train the models. External validation was performed on an independent test set of 558 images. A ground-truth label was assigned to each image by a panel of cornea specialists. We constructed a deep transfer learning network that consisted of a pre-trained network and an adaptation layer. In this work, five pre-trained networks were considered, namely VGG-16, ResNet-101, Inception V3, Xception, and Inception-ResNet V2. The performance of each transfer network was evaluated by calculating the area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and G mean. Results The best performance was achieved by Inception-ResNet V2 transfer model. In the validation set, the best transfer system achieved an AUC of 0.9646 (P<0.001) in identifying activated dendritic cells (accuracy, 0.9319; sensitivity, 0.8171; specificity, 0.9517; and G mean, 0.8872), and 0.9901 (P<0.001) in identifying inflammatory cells (accuracy, 0.9767; sensitivity, 0.9174; specificity, 0.9931; and G mean, 0.9545). Conclusions The deep transfer learning models provide a completely automated analysis of corneal inflammatory cellular components with high accuracy. The implementation of such models would greatly benefit the management of corneal diseases and reduce workloads for ophthalmologists.

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An in vivo confocal microscopy study: correlation between morphological changes of corneal subbasal nerve and clinical symptoms of Sjögren syndrome

International Eye Research ◽

10.18240/ier.2021.02.03 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 74-78

Author(s):

Zhao Yang ◽

Keyword(s):

Confocal Microscopy ◽

Nerve Fiber ◽

Clinical Symptoms ◽

Morphological Changes ◽

Sjögren Syndrome ◽

Control Group ◽

Sjogren Syndrome ◽

Observation Group ◽

In Vivo Confocal Microscopy

AIM: To observe the morphological changes of corneal subbasal nerve (SBN) plexus in patients with Sjögren syndrome (SS) by in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) study and analyze its correlation with clinical symptoms. METHODS: We collected 22 cases (44 eyes) patients with SS (observation group) and 22 cases (44 eyes) healthy people with the same age (control group) for observation of central corneal SBN fibers diameter, number of beads, and tortuosity, and recorded tear film break up time (BUT), Schirmer’s I test (SIT), tear meniscus height (TMH), dendritic cell (DC) density, the results were applied to perform statistical analysis. RESULTS: Under IVCM observation, the diameter of corneal SBN fibers in the observation group became thinner, the number of beads and the degree of nerve fiber tortuosity were increased compared with the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Pearson correlation analysis: the diameter of corneal SBN fibers in the observation group was significantly correlated with BUT (r=0.472, P<0.01), SIT (r=0.562, P<0.01), TMH (r=0.246, P=0.02) and DC density (r=-0.636, P<0.01). The number of nerve fiber beads was correlated with BUT (r= -0.621, P<0.01), SIT (r=-0.688, P<0.01), TMH (r=-0.438, P<0.01) and DC density (r=0.528, P<0.01). There was a significant correlation between nerve fiber tortuosity and BUT (r=-0.634, P<0.01), SIT (r=-0.713, P<0.01), TMH (r= -0.384, P<0.01) and DC density (r=0.604, P<0.01). CONCLUSION: IVCM can effectively observe the morphology of corneal nerve plexus. In SS patients, the diameter of corneal SBN fibers becomes thinner, the number of beads increases, and the tortuosity of nerve fiber increases. Moreover, the degree of nerve fiber lesions is correlated with the severity of dry eye clinical symptoms.

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