title: Use of ultra-high-resolution optical coherence tomography to detect in vivo characteristics of Descemet's membrane in Fuchs' dystrophy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To demonstrate the capability of ultra-high-resolution (UHR) anterior segment optical coherence tomography (OCT) to image Descemet's membrane (DM) and measure its thickness in vivo. (2) To evaluate the use of DM characteristics and thickness in the diagnosis of Fuchs' dystrophy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case-control study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty eyes of 12 Fuchs' dystrophy patients, 20 eyes of 13 young normal, and 20 eyes of 15 elderly normal subjects.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects were imaged using novel, custom-built UHR-OCT. Images were used to describe the characteristics of DM. Custom-made software was used to measure DM thickness and central corneal thickness (CCT). Specimens of DM obtained from Fuchs' dystrophy patients who underwent endothelial keratoplasty (EK) were histopathologically examined. Regression analyses were used to assess the correlation of DM thickness measured by UHR-OCT in vivo and by light microscopy and to determine the intergroup correlations between age, CCT, and DM thickness.
  
  
  METHODS
  We assessed DM characteristics and thickness, CCT, and age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Using UHR-OCT, the DM seemed in normal young subjects as a single, opaque, smooth line and in normal elderly subjects as a band of 2 smooth opaque lines with a translucent space in between. In Fuchs' dystrophy, DM appeared as a thickened band of 2 opaque lines; the anterior line was smooth whereas the posterior line had a wavy and irregular appearance with areas of localized thickenings. The DM thickness measured in vivo by UHR-OCT correlated significantly with that measured by light microscopy in 5 Fuchs' dystrophy eyes that underwent EK. The average central thicknesses of DM in normal young, in normal elderly and in Fuchs' dystrophy eyes were 10+/-3, 16+/-2, and 34+/-11 microm, respectively (P<0.001). There was a significant correlation between age and DM thickness only in normal groups. In Fuchs' dystrophy patients, there was a significant correlation between CCT and DM thickness that was not significant for normal groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ultra-high-resolution OCT is an innovative technique for the in vivo imaging of DM. Determining DM characteristics and thickness by UHR-OCT could be a new approach for the diagnosis of Fuchs' dystrophy.
authors.affiliation: Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA.
authors.forename: Mohamed Abou
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Shousha
authors.forename: Victor L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Perez
authors.forename: Jianhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ide
authors.forename: Shuliang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jiao
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Buchser
authors.forename: Sander R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Dubovy
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Feuer
authors.forename: Sonia H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Yoo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003886:Descemet Membrane / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005642:Fuchs' Endothelial Dystrophy / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000295:instrumentation*; D055815:Young Adult