What biomechanical properties of the cornea are relevant for the clinician?

Although the effects of central corneal thickness and corneal curvature on intraocular pressure measurement are well known, it has only recently become possible to measure the biomechanical properties of the cornea in vivo. This article reviews the structural and material properties of the cornea and considers the effects of corneal parameters, including biomechanics, on IOP measurement. The role of corneal biomechanics as a potential indicator of the structural integrity of the globe will also be discussed. Current evidence suggests that the importance of corneal biomechanics to the glaucoma clinician rests primarily with its effects on IOP measurement. However, the possibility that corneal biomechanics may give an indication of the structural integrity of the optic nerve head cannot be completely excluded. Further population and longitudinal studies are needed to clarify whether current in vivo measures of corneal biomechanical properties, including corneal hysteresis, prove to be independent predictors of glaucoma susceptibility.

[1]  Kwou-Yeung Wu,et al.  Effect of Latanoprost on Cultured Porcine Corneal Stromal Cells , 2005, Current eye research.

[2]  D. Luce.  Determining in vivo biomechanical properties of the cornea with an ocular response analyzer , 2005, Journal of cataract and refractive surgery.

[3]  D. Maurice,et al.  An update on corneal hydration control. , 2004, Experimental Eye Research.

[4]  Shan C. Lin,et al.  Correlation Between Intraocular Pressure, Central Corneal Thickness, Stage of Glaucoma, and Demographic Patient Data: Prospective Analysis of Biophysical Parameters in Tertiary Glaucoma Practice Populations , 2006, Journal of glaucoma.

[5]  Caitriona Kirwan,et al.  Corneal hysteresis and intraocular pressure measurement in children using the reichert ocular response analyzer. , 2006, American journal of ophthalmology.

[6]  K. Meek,et al.  The integration of the corneal and limbal fibrils in the human eye. , 1998, Biophysical journal.

[7]  Jonas S. Friedenwald,et al.  Contribution to the Theory and Practice of Tonometry , 1937 .

[8]  A. Daxer,et al.  Collagen fibrils in the human corneal stroma: structure and aging. , 1998, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[9]  C Nave,et al.  The organisation of collagen fibrils in the human corneal stroma: a synchrotron X-ray diffraction study. , 1987, Current eye research.

[10]  Mujtaba A. Qazi,et al.  Changes in corneal biomechanics and intraocular pressure following LASIK using static, dynamic, and noncontact tonometry. , 2007, American journal of ophthalmology.

[11]  M. Doughty,et al.  Human corneal thickness and its impact on intraocular pressure measures: a review and meta-analysis approach. , 2000, Survey of ophthalmology.

[12]  R. S. Wall,et al.  Ageing of the human corneal stroma: structural and biochemical changes. , 1992, Biochimica et biophysica acta.

[13]  D. Pye,et al.  Determination of the true intraocular pressure and modulus of elasticity of the human cornea in vivo , 1999, Bulletin of mathematical biology.

[14]  Chris A. Johnson,et al.  The Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study: baseline factors that predict the onset of primary open-angle glaucoma. , 2002 .

[15]  D. Hoeltzel,et al.  Strip Extensiometry for Comparison of the Mechanical Response of Bovine, Rabbit, and Human Corneas , 1992 .

[16]  A. Elsheikh,et al.  Assessment of Corneal Biomechanical Properties and Their Variation with Age , 2007, Current eye research.

[17]  T. Ushiki,et al.  The three-dimensional organization of collagen fibrils in the human cornea and sclera. , 1991, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[18]  J O Hjortdal,et al.  Regional elastic performance of the human cornea. , 1996, Journal of biomechanics.

[19]  F. K. Hansen,et al.  BIOMETRIC CORRELATIONS OF CORNEAL THICKNESS , 1975, Acta ophthalmologica.

[20]  G. Vrensen,et al.  The specific architecture of the anterior stroma accounts for maintenance of corneal curvature , 2001, The British journal of ophthalmology.

[21]  Jun Liu,et al.  Influence of corneal biomechanical properties on intraocular pressure measurement: Quantitative analysis , 2005, Journal of cataract and refractive surgery.

[22]  S. Tuft,et al.  A study of corneal thickness, shape and collagen organisation in keratoconus using videokeratography and X-ray scattering techniques. , 2007, Experimental eye research.

[23]  Ahmed Elsheikh,et al.  Corneal thickness- and age-related biomechanical properties of the cornea measured with the ocular response analyzer. , 2006, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[24]  J. Hjortdal,et al.  On the biomechanical properties of the cornea with particular reference to refractive surgery. , 1998, Acta ophthalmologica Scandinavica. Supplement.

[25]  N. Congdon,et al.  Central corneal thickness and corneal hysteresis associated with glaucoma damage. , 2006, American journal of ophthalmology.

[26]  H. Dwight Cavanagh,et al.  The cornea : transactions of the World Congress on the Cornea III , 1989 .

[27]  C. Connon,et al.  Transparency, swelling and scarring in the corneal stroma , 2003, Eye.

[28]  Robert N Weinreb,et al.  Corneal thickness as a risk factor for visual field loss in patients with preperimetric glaucomatous optic neuropathy. , 2003, American journal of ophthalmology.

[29]  G VonBahr,et al.  Measurements of the thickness of the cornea. , 1948 .

[30]  Chris A. Johnson,et al.  The Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study: baseline factors that predict the onset of primary open-angle glaucoma. , 2002, Archives of ophthalmology.

[31]  Thomas J. Liesegang,et al.  The specific architecture of the anterior stroma accounts for maintenance of corneal curvature. Muller LJ,∗ Pels E, Vrensen GF. Br J Ophthalmol 2001;85:437–443. , 2001 .