title: The Ultrastructures and Mechanical Properties of the Descement's Membrane in Fuchs Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy.
abstract: Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD), is the most common corneal endothelial dystrophy, and contributes up to 50% of all corneal transplantations performed in developed countries. FECD develops in Descemet's membrane (DM) and possibly alters the mechanical properties and internal structures in this basal lamina. In this work, the morphology and mechanical properties of FECD-DMs are studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and quantitative dynamic atomic force microscopy (QD-AFM) at nano scale. Pathological wide-space collagens that are typical of FECD display different mechanical properties in that they are softer than the remaining tissue both for dehydrated- and fully hydrated samples. Additionally, the hydration level has major influence on the mechanical properties. These findings could help to further understand the structural changes in FECD, and possibly be useful for further characterization of the disease, the diagnosis and assessment or even pathologic analysis.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Energy Equipment Materials, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Materials Laminating Fabrication and Interface Control Technology, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300130, China.|The Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: The Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark.
authors.forename: Shuai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus 8000, Denmark.
authors.forename: Esben
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus 8000, Denmark.
authors.forename: Anders Ramløv
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Ivarsen
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Energy Equipment Materials, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Materials Laminating Fabrication and Interface Control Technology, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300130, China.
authors.forename: Chunyong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: The Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: The Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thomsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus 8000, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jesper Østergaard
authors.initials: JØ
authors.lastname: Hjortdal
authors.affiliation: The Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark.
authors.forename: Mingdong
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dong
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D003315:Cornea / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003886:Descemet Membrane / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D005642:Fuchs' Endothelial Dystrophy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission