Ricerc@Sapienza

Keratokonus is the most common corneal distrophy that leads to severe visual alterations. Its pathogenesis is still unknown, and corneal transplantion is the only terapeuthic approach. Many classifications of keratoconus have been proposed but no one has still been accepted definitely.
Recent studies have shown how Nerve Growth factor (NGF) and the elements of its pathway are involved in corneal trophism.
The aim of our study is to investigate the clinical use of NGF pathway assessment to early diagnosis and monitoring of keratoconus.
Patients with different stage of KC will be included and studied. Completed ocular examination and conjunctival and tear sample collection will be performed at baseline and 1 year follow-up. The level of NGF,Sp3 TrkA and p75 will be evaluated with Western-Blot and correlated to disease progression as demonstrated by clinical evaluation and corneal topography and pakimetry.
The results of this study can be an important base for considering these elements as biomarker for keratoconus, to better understand its pathogenesis and to plan a more specific therapeutic strategy.