Journal of Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology
Open Access
ISSN: 2155-9570
ISSN: 2155-9570
Farhad Hafezi, MD PhD, Cosimo Mazzotta, MD PhD, Miguel Rechichi, MD, PhD, DiSSO
ELZA Institute AG, Switzerland
University of Siena, Italy
Centro Polispecilistico Mediterraneo
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Clin Exp Ophthalmol
Keratoconus is a corneal disease that causes thinning and bulging of the cornea into the shape of a cone. This disease can cause legal blindness in progressive cases. Although the incident rate varies by geographical region, literature states that keratoconus affects roughly 1:1,500 in the general population. Due to an improvement of diagnostics and increased awareness of this disease, recent studies are showing that keratoconus may have a much higher prevalence. Unfortunately, this disease often times goes undetected. Studies have shown that hormones besides genetic factors play an influencing role. Children and adolescents with keratoconus are at a much higher risk compared to adults because keratoconus is the most dangerous when it is progressive, which happens during puberty. Literature has also reported on continued progression involving pregnant women. Geographical regions and climate also play a significant role in the prevalence of this disease. Dry, windy and hot climates have a higher rate of eye rubbing due to allergies and eye irritation. Habitual eye rubbing represents another fact or that might weaken the cornea biomechanically. Lastly, literature shows that the Down Syndrome population has a much higher prevalence for keratoconus than the general population because these individuals are known to have connective tissue (collagen fibers) irregularities that cause hypermobility. The connective tissues related to their prominent health problems can be found in the joints, heart, lung, as probably the cornea. When managing pediatric and mentally-challenged patients, often times the vision specialist may deem the poor results of a visual examination due to low to noncompliance or low mental capacity instead of recognizing the possible signs of keratoconus. Therefore, early and thorough screening, detection and treatment are especially crucial among this population group. In summary, the underlying reason that this disease is often times undetected is that there is little information about this disease and its symptoms being provided to healthcare professionals, including opticians, optometrists, and general ophthalmologists. This course will address this problem by providing a comprehensive overview about keratoconus, influencing factors that may increase risk of the disease, profiling at-risk patients and explaining corneal cross-linking (CXL) treatment modalities.
Farhad Hafezi is a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Geneva and University of Southern California. Hafezi serves as the chief medical officer of the ELZA Institute in Zurich, Switzerland. Hafezi has been cited 4,700 times, an impact factor of 436, and an h--index of 35. Hafezi’s clinical expertise includes corneal diseases, dystrophies and degenerations as well as complication management related to refractive surgery. His research is dedicated to understanding corneal diseases, especially ocular cell biology. Hafezi is internationally recognized as a corneal cross--linking (CXL) pioneer for treating keratoconus and translating CXL principles into new applications like infection control.
Email: Farhad@hafezi.ch