Xingru Zhang

Bulbar conjunctival thickness measurements with optical coherence tomography in healthy chinese subjects.

PURPOSE To conduct in vivo measurements of the bulbar conjunctiva epithelial, stromal, and total thicknesses in healthy Chinese subjects using optical coherence tomography (OCT) and to compare the conjunctival thickness differences between sex and age. METHODS From January to July 2012, healthy Chinese subjects were recruited to undergo a Cirrus HD-OCT examination using the Anterior Segment 5 Line Raster scanning protocol. Ophthalmoscopy and slit-lamp examinations were performed on all eyes, along with the determination of visual acuity. The bulbar conjunctiva epithelial thickness, stromal thickness, and full thickness were measured on cross-sectional conjunctiva images. The average values of each parameter were compared between males and females and among eight age groups (<20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70, 71-80, and >80 years). RESULTS A total of 711 eyes in 711 subjects (average age 46.5 years) were included. The average conjunctiva epithelial, stromal, and full thickness measurements were 42.4 ± 7.4 μm, 197.7 ± 32.5 μm, and 240.1 ± 29.8 μm, respectively. No significant difference was found for any of the three parameters between sexes. The conjunctiva epithelial thickness values decreased significantly after age 20 and were then maintained at relatively low levels, followed by a sharp increase at 60 years of age. The conjunctiva stromal thickness decreased throughout the entire lifetime, and the full thickness decreased from the teenage to the elderly periods. CONCLUSIONS None of the Chinese conjunctiva epithelial, stromal, and full thickness was sex-related, but all of them were age-related.

Assessing the severity of conjunctivochalasis in a senile population: a community-based epidemiology study in Shanghai, China

BackgroundIn a previous hospital-based study, conjunctivochalasis was diagnosed in 85.24% of 1416 patients aged 1 to 94 years and in 98.5% of patients aged 60 or older. This report is the first to present data from a large scale epidemiologic study on conjunctivochalasis in a community-based population, thereby helping to better identify the severity of conjunctivochalasis in the general population.MethodsThis community-based epidemiologic study was conducted to evaluate prevalence rates and related factors of conjunctivochalasis among people over 60 years old in the CaoYangXinCun community, Shanghai, China. Cluster sampling was used in randomly selected local residents aged no less than 60 years. A cross-sectional study using a slit-lamp ophthalmoscope for examination was carried out from September 2008 to October 2008. A modified grading system based on the well-accepted Meller and Tsengs system was used. SPSS10.0 software was used for data and statistical analysis.ResultsA total of 2110 residents took part in this study, with a response rate of 94.85%. Among these, 930 cases were confirmed as conjunctivochalasis, with a prevalence rate of 44.08%. The prevalence rate increased with age (X2 = 10.44, P < 0.01). A total of 1762 eyes were confirmed as conjunctivochalasis eyes. Of these eyes, 943 were classified as Grade I (53.52%), 647 as Grade II (36.72%), 162 as Grade III (9.19%), and the remaining 10 eyes as Grade IV (0.57%). The conjunctiva usually accumulated on the nasal and temporal areas of the conjunctival sac (944 eyes, 53.58%).ConclusionsAlthough the rate estimated in the present study is not as high as reported in the former hospital-based study, conjunctivochalasis is considered a common age-related eye disease, deserving more attention to its early diagnosis.

The effect of age and conjunctivochalasis on conjunctival thickness.

ABSTRACT Purpose: To determine the effect of age and conjunctivochalasis (CCh) on conjunctival thickness. Methods: One hundred and nineteen normal subjects aged 60–79 years and 83 subjects with CCh graded I–II (39 males and 44 females) aged 60–79 years were recruited. Cirrus HD-optical coherence tomography 4000 was used to measure the thickness of the lower temporal conjunctiva 3–5 mm from the corneal limbus. Results: The conjunctiva was significantly thicker in normal subjects compared to CCh patients (p < 0.0001), and in normal subjects aged 60–69 years compared to normal subjects aged 70–79 years (p = 0.0466). There was no significant difference between age groups for patients with CCh (p = 0.1001). After subdividing groups by age, normal subjects had a thicker conjunctiva compared to CCh patients for those aged 60–69 years (p = 0.0152) as well as those aged 70–79 years (p = 0.0120). Conclusions: The conjunctiva is thinner in older subjects and subjects with CCh.

The palpebral conjunctival epithelium thickness in young adults measured by optical coherence tomography

OBJECTIVE To measure the palpebral conjunctival epithelium thickness in young adults with optical coherence tomography (OCT). METHODS A Cirrus HD-OCT 4000 system was used to image the superior palpebral conjunctival with the Anterior Segment 5 Line Raster scanning protocol at the central region in 36 male and 26 female subjects aged between 20 and 30 years of age with normal, healthy eyes. The palpebral conjunctival epithelium thickness was measured according to the difference in brightness on OCT between the epithelium and its underlying substantia propria. The measurements were respectively performed in the same subjects by two operators and the Bland-Altman plot and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were used to measure the agreement between two operators. RESULTS No difference in the palpebral conjunctival epithelium thickness was found between the males (34.00±5.78 μm) and females (33.67±4.51 μm) (t=0.2425, p=0.8095). The mean values of the superior palpebral conjunctival epithelium thickness from operator 1 and operator 2 were 33.81±5.04 μm and 34.74±4.28 μm, respectively. The analysis of inter-operator variability demonstrated a good agreement between two operators: ICC=0.944, F=17.787, p<0.001; on the Bland-Altman plot, the 95% limits included 100% of differences between the two operators and the maximal difference is 5 μm. CONCLUSION The palpebral conjunctival epithelium thickness can be measured using OCT with a good repeatability.