The contralateral corneal endothelium in the iridocorneal endothelial syndrome
T. C. Lucas-Glass, K. H. Baratz, L. R. Nelson, D. O. Hodge and W. M. Bourne
Department of Ophthalmology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., USA.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the corneal endothelial morphometric measures of the
contralateral, clinically uninvolved eye of patients with the iridocorneal
endothelial (ICE) syndrome. DESIGN: A retrospective review of the specular
microscopic photographs of the contralateral corneal endothelium of all
patients with ICE syndrome seen at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. SETTING:
Ophthalmology department, Mayo Clinic. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-eight patients
with unilateral ICE syndrome who had bilateral endothelial photographs (ICE
group) and 28 normal, age-matched control subjects (control group). MAIN
OUTCOME MEASURES: Percentage of hexagonal cells, coefficient of variation
of cell area, and endothelial cell density. METHODS: For each patient and
control, 100 endothelial cells were digitized from projected endothelial
photomicrographs of the central corneas in the uninvolved eyes. RESULTS: A
statistically significant decrease was noted in the mean percentage of
hexagonal cells (ICE, 62%; control, 69%; P = .002), and an increase was
noted in the mean coefficient of variation of cell area (ICE, 0.28;
control, 0.25; P = .02) in the patients with ICE syndrome compared with
normal, age-matched controls. The mean endothelial cell density did not
differ significantly between the 2 groups (ICE, 2588; control, 2759; P =
.10). CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that the clinically uninvolved,
contralateral eyes in patients with ICE syndrome have subclinical
endothelial abnormalities as evidenced by a relatively low percentage of
hexagonal cells and a relatively high coefficient of variation of cell
area.
