title: Anterior keratocyte depletion in fuchs endothelial dystrophy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine if keratocyte populations are different in corneas with Fuchs dystrophy compared with control corneas.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eleven corneas excised during penetrating keratoplasty for Fuchs dystrophy and 5 control corneas of eyes enucleated for choroidal melanoma were examined using light microscopy. Twenty control corneas age-matched to the corneas with Fuchs dystrophy were examined using confocal microscopy in vivo. The number of keratocytes in a full-thickness column of central stroma with frontal area of 1 mm(2), determined using histologic and confocal methods, was compared between corneas with Fuchs dystrophy and controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  By histology, the mean (SD) number of cells in a full-thickness column of stroma in Fuchs dystrophy (12 215 [1394] cells) was less than in control corneas (15 628 [710] cells; P < .001). The mean (SD) number of keratocytes in the anterior 10% of the stroma of corneas with Fuchs dystrophy (682 [274] cells) was less than in the control corneas measured using histology (1858 [404] cells; P < .001) and confocal microscopy (1481 [397] cells; P < .001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Keratocytes are depleted by 54% to 63% in the anterior 10% of the stroma of corneas that require penetrating keratoplasty for Fuchs dystrophy. Keratocyte loss might contribute to anterior stromal changes that persist and degrade vision after endothelial keratoplasty.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
authors.forename: Laura A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Hecker
authors.forename: Jay W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: McLaren
authors.forename: Lori A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Bachman
authors.forename: Sanjay V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Patel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002452:Cell Count; D002830:Choroid Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D003319:Corneal Stroma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D015353:Eye Enucleation; D005260:Female; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000473:pathology*; D005642:Fuchs' Endothelial Dystrophy / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D015948:Keratoplasty, Penetrating; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008875:Middle Aged