1. Limbal stem cell diseases
- Author
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Sophie X. Deng, JoAnn S. Roberts, and Clemence Bonnet
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,Disease ,Ocular imaging ,Limbus Corneae ,Bioinformatics ,Article ,Corneal Diseases ,03 medical and health sciences ,Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience ,0302 clinical medicine ,Humans ,Medicine ,Limbal stem cell ,Stage (cooking) ,Progenitor cell ,business.industry ,Stem Cells ,Epithelium, Corneal ,eye diseases ,Sensory Systems ,Epithelial homeostasis ,Ophthalmology ,030104 developmental biology ,030221 ophthalmology & optometry ,Etiology ,sense organs ,business ,Ocular surface - Abstract
The function of limbal stem/progenitor cells (LSCs) is critical to maintain corneal epithelial homeostasis. Many external insults and intrinsic defects can be deleterious to LSCs and their niche microenvironment, resulting in limbal stem cell dysfunction or deficiency (LSCD). Ocular comorbidities, frequent in eyes with LSCD, can exacerbate the dysfunction of residual LSCs, and limit the survival of transplanted LSCs. Clinical presentation and disease evolution vary among different etiologies of LSCD. New ocular imaging modalities and molecular markers are now available to standardize the diagnosis criteria and stage the severity of the disease. Medical therapies may be sufficient to reverse the disease if residual LSCs are present. A stepwise approach should be followed to optimize the ocular surface, eliminate the causative factors and treat comorbid conditions, before considering surgical interventions. Furthermore, surgical options are selected depending on the severity and laterality of the disease. The standardized diagnostic criteria to stage the disease is necessary to objectively evaluate and compare the efficacy of the emerging customized therapies.
- Published
- 2021
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