CXL therapy benefits patients with progressive keratoconus

Article

Collagen crosslinking (CXL) in patients with progressive keratoconus was found to be effective after 2 years in improving uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), topographic metrics, and most corneal higher-order aberrations, according to a study published in Cornea: The Journal of Cornea and External Disease. Researchers noted that there was a significant reduction in apical keratometry, which directly correlated with improvements in visual acuity

Collagen crosslinking (CXL) in patients with progressive keratoconus was found to be effective after 2 years in improving uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), topographic metrics, and most corneal higher-order aberrations, according to a study published in Cornea: The Journal of Cornea and External Disease. Researchers noted that there was a significant reduction in apical keratometry, which directly correlated with improvements in visual acuity.

For this prospective case series, researchers included 42 eyes from 32 patients who had progressive keratoconus treated with CXL. Main outcomes measured at baseline, 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months after treatment were UDVA, CDVA, refractive changes, topographic data, and corneal aberrations.

At 2 years post-CXL treatment, UDVA, CDVA, and spherical equivalents all improved significantly (P P P P P

Aberration analyses showed significant reductions in coma (P = 0.016), trefoil (P = 0.018), secondary astigmatism (P P = 0.031), secondary coma (P P = 0.001). Corneal higher-order aberrations, except quatrefoil, all showed significant correlation with postoperative CDVA, with the highest occurring with coma (rho = 0.703; P P = 0.001), and total HOA (rho = 0.487; P = 0.001.

Higher-order aberrations, however, were not statistically associated with improved visual acuity. Reductions in apical keratometry was the only post-treatment variable associated with improvement in CDVA (rho = 0.319; P = 0.042).

For view a copy of the abstract of this study, click here.

Newsletter

Join ophthalmologists across Europe—sign up for exclusive updates and innovations in surgical techniques and clinical care.

Recent Videos
SriniVas R. Sadda, MD, FARVO, shares key points from his retina presentation at the International SPECTRALIS Symposium
Robert Sergott, MD, describes fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) and the International SPECTRALIS Symposium – And Beyond (ISS) in Heidelberg, Germany.
Rayaz Malik, MBChB, PhD, a professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine - Qatar, spoke with Ophthalmology Times Europe about his presentation. It's titled "An eye on neurodegenerative diseases: Challenging the dogma" at the International SPECTRALIS Sympsoium. In conversation with Hattie Hayes, Ophthalmology Times Europe
Anat Loewenstein, MD, describes her presentation on remote imaging for age-related macular degeneration and geographic atrophy at the International SPECTRALIS Symposium, in conversation with Hattie Hayes of Ophthalmology Times Europe
Tyson Brunstetter, OD, PhD, a US Navy Aerospace Optometrist at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, shares key takeaways from his keynote at the International SPECTRALIS Symposium (ISS)
Rayaz Malik, MBChB, PhD, shares his presentation, titled An eye on neurodegenerative diseases: Challenging the dogma, at this year's International SPECTRALIS Symposium
At the Retina World Congress, Siegfried Priglinger, MD, speaks about ensuring the best outcomes for preschool-aged patients
At the 2025 ASCRS meeting, Robert Ang, MD said small aperture IOLs can benefit all patients, especially those with complex corneas or who have undergone previous corneal refractive surgery
Viha Vig, MBChB graduate student at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, discusses her poster presentation on the relationship between mitochondiral disease, Alzheimer disease, and other types of dementia.
Alfredo Sadun, MD, PhD, chief of Ophthalmology at the Doheny Eye Institute, University of California Los Angeles, shared exciting new research with the Eye Care Network during the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meeting on the subject of Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON).
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.