Purpose: To examine the endothelial morphology and the central thickness of the cornea in the eyes of patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PXS).
Methods: The corneal endothelium was investigated in 21 patients (26 PXS eyes; 7 eyes of glaucoma patients, and 19 eyes of patients without glaucoma) and in 30 patients with senile cataract or refractive errors who served as the control group (30 non-PXS eyes). The corneal endothelial morphology and central corneal thickness (CCT) were compared between the two groups.
Results: The corneal endothelial cell density was significantly lower in the PXS eyes (2336+/-383 cells/mm(2)) than in the non-PXS eyes (2632+/-327 cells/mm(2)) (P=.003). There was no significant difference in the coefficient of variation for the cell area and the percentage of hexagonal cells between these two groups. The central cornea was significantly thinner in the PXS eyes (529+/-31 micro m) than in the non-PXS eyes (547+/-28 micro m) (P=.03). There were no significant differences in these factors between the PXS eyes in patients with and without glaucoma.
Conclusions: In PXS eyes, regardless of the presence of glaucoma in the patients, the corneal endothelial cell density is decreased and the central cornea is thin.