title: [SPECULAR MICROSCOPY NORMATIVE DATA: DOES PATIENT AGE HAVE AN IMPACT ON CORNEAL ENDOTHELIUM FEATURES IN ELDERLY EYES?].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Corneal endothelium is essential for adequate corneal hydration and transparency. Age and ethnicity- related variability in endothelial properties is known.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine specular microscopy trends in the elderly and to provide normative data of endothelial features of the sampled cohort of the Israeli population aged 55-88 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a retrospective cross-sectional study analyzing specular microscopy data of the Israeli population aged 55-88 years and the determination of correlation of age to specular microscopy features. A comparison of endothelial properties was conducted between age-based groups: 55-64 years, 65-74 years, and 75-88 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred and eighty eight eyes of 188 patients, mean age 71.05 ± 7.9 years, were included; Mean Cell Density 2549.53 ± 294.71 cells/mm²; Coefficient of variation (CV) 42.12 ± 6.9%; Hexagonality (Hexa) 49.15 ± 6.62%; Central Corneal thickness (CCT) 552 ± 47 µm. A weak correlation was observed between cell density and age [r = -0.169; p = 0.02); CV, Hexa, and CCT did not show any correlation with age. Group analysis did not reveal statistically significant differences between the following age groups: 55-64 years; 65-74 years; 75-88 years
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Normative data of endothelial properties of the sampled cohort of Israeli population aged 55-88 years is provided. Age has a weak correlation with cell density.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Considering the aging of the population, endothelial properties do not justify the rejection of potential donors based on age alone.
authors.forename: Anry
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pitchkhadze
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bilenko
authors.forename: Jaime
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Levy
authors.forename: Nadav
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Belfair
authors.forename: Tova
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lifshitz
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D002452:Cell Count / Q000379:methods; D016922:Cellular Senescence / Q000502:physiology*; D003315:Cornea / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004728:Endothelium, Corneal / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008297:Male; D008853:Microscopy / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D016011:Normal Distribution; D013223:Statistics as Topic