Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Corneal and limbal thickness changes in brachycephalic dogs with eye
By Jeong, Youngseok et al.·Published in Veterinary ophthalmology·2024·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, South Korea·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Comparative evaluation of corneal and limbal epithelial thickness in brachycephalic dogs with and without corneal diseases using spectral domain optical coherence tomography.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of brachycephalic dogs, which are breeds with flat faces like Bulldogs and Pugs, were examined for eye problems, specifically corneal degeneration and pigmentation. The study found that dogs with corneal degeneration had thinner areas in their eye's limbal epithelium compared to healthy dogs. Many of these affected dogs also showed irregularities in their corneal surface and other signs of eye issues. Understanding these changes can help veterinarians better diagnose and treat corneal diseases in these breeds.
People also search for: brachycephalic dog eye problems · corneal degeneration in Bulldogs · treatment for dog corneal pigmentation
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate alterations in epithelial thickness during corneal degeneration, corneal pigmentation, and additional features observed through spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in brachycephalic dogs. ANIMALS AND PROCEDURES: The study used 55 eyes from 49 brachycephalic dogs that underwent OCT-containing ophthalmic examinations. The examined eyes were classified into corneal degeneration, corneal pigmentation, and normal groups according to corneal lesions. For each eye, corneal epithelial thickness (CET) in the central cornea and maximum limbal epithelial thickness (maxLET) in 4 quadrants of limbus (superior, inferior, nasal, and temporal) were measured from OCT images. Additional abnormal findings on OCT images, including irregular epithelium, subepithelial hyperreflectivity, and conjunctivochalasis, were also recorded. RESULTS: The corneal degeneration group had significantly thinner nasal and temporal maxLETs than that of the normal group (p < .001). In the central corneal OCT image of the corneal degeneration group, an irregular epithelium was observed in 70.6% and subepithelial hyperreflectivity in 82.4%, both of which were significantly higher than the normal group (p < .001). In a comparative analysis, the nasal, temporal, and inferior maxLETs were significantly thinner in the corneal pigmentation group than those in the normal group (p < .001, p < .001, and p = .01, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Morphological changes in the limbal epithelium were observed in dogs with corneal degeneration and corneal pigmentation. LET reduction could be associated with their pathogenesis and would be valuable as an additional parameter for corneal diseases.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37118910/