What is keratoconus?
Dr. Victor Derhartunian explains what keratoconus is
Keratoconus is a natural corneal weakness that can lead to a corneal transplant in individual cases.
It is important to assess whether this disease is stable or progressive.
If the disease is progressive and not yet at a very advanced stage, keratoconus can also be stabilized with so-called cross-linking.
What happens with keratoconus?
Keratoconus is a degenerative disease of the cornea – the cornea becomes thinner and a cone-shaped protrusion develops, which can progress further and further.
The protrusion leads to an irregular curvature of the cornea.
Why the cornea thins and bulges has not yet been conclusively researched.
The causes are thought to be genetic factors in particular, but also the mechanical impact on the cornea caused by vigorous eye rubbing.
At the beginning of the disease, correction is possible with the help of visual aids.
In later stages, eye surgery may be necessary.
In addition to a corneal transplant, crosslinking can also be considered as a treatment method.
Symptoms of keratoconus: Impaired quality of vision
The disease occurs gradually.
The main symptom is a deterioration in vision. Only rarely is it an acute keratoconus, which is an emergency and manifests itself as a sudden deterioration in vision, eye pain and tearing.
As a rule, both eyes are affected by keratoconus.
Those affected typically experience symptoms such as increased sensitivity to glare and light or blurred and distorted vision.
The perception of double and multiple images is possible.
A deterioration in night vision is often noticed.
Frequency of keratoconus – who is affected?
Keratoconus is said to affect 4 to 700 out of 10,000 people – a large variance.
Both sexes are equally affected.
Keratoconus often occurs at a young age.
It is difficult to quantify the number of cases.
This is not least due to the fact that the disease varies in severity among those affected – the point at which one can speak of a definite diagnosis of keratoconus is determined differently.
Can the disease progress at any age?
Keratoconus often develops between the ages of 10 and 20.
In the progression phase of the disease, it is referred to as active keratoconus.
Progression stagnates as soon as the body’s connective tissue loses elasticity and becomes stiffer – this is usually the case between the ages of 35 and 45.
In rare cases, active keratoconus can also be observed at a later age.
Keratoconus: risk factors and prevention
As the causes of keratoconus have not been conclusively clarified, effective prevention is not possible.
Increased eye rubbing is considered a risk factor, which is why rubbing and other impacts on the eye should be avoided.
Treating keratoconus with crosslinking
Keratoconus can be stopped by a medical procedure: crosslinking.
CXL (corneal cross-linking) is one of the world’s most recognized methods of treating keratoconus – with a success rate of over 90 percent when it comes to stopping or even reversing keratoconus.
During surgery, the cornea is treated with vitamin B2 (riboflavin) and UV-A light.
The aim is to prevent the progression of the disease and restore a stable quality of vision.
The earlier the treatment is carried out, the more vision can be preserved.