Experimental procedure treats keratoconus, ectasia.

Keratoconus is a disorder where the cornea becomes abnormally thin in places. The cornea then develops an irregular curvature because it bulges out in those thin spots. The underlying cause is probably an increased amount of an enzyme which breaks down the crosslinks between collagen, an elastic molecule that helps hold the corneal shape. In early keratoconus, the vision is corrected with standard contacts and glasses. As the disease progresses, specially designed rigid lenses are used to correct the vision, but they do not halt or slow disease progression. Advanced keratoconus (either the cornea is too irregular to fit with specially designed contacts or it is scarred to the point functional vision is no longer possible) is a significant reason for corneal transplant. While corneal transplants do result in a clear cornea, they aren't a perfect solution. The recipient is on drops to prevent graft rejection for a long time and sometimes high amounts of astigmatism post-surgery. Having a treatment earlier in the disease process would be a huge improvement.

On its website, WLS-TV Chicago (2/25), an ABC affiliate, reported that "corneal collagen crosslinking with Riboflavin (CXL) is an experimental treatment for...keratoconus and ectasia. Currently, the conditions have no medical treatment and are responsible for 15 percent of corneal transplants in the United States." The "CXL treatment works by increasing collagen crosslinking in the cornea. The crosslinks are responsible for maintaining the cornea's round shape." In a procedure performed "in the doctor's office and" lasting "only a half hour," the corneal epithelium is first removed. Next, "vitamin B, or riboflavin, drops saturate the eye, which is then exposed to ultraviolet light." The "reaction between the ultraviolet light and the riboflavin...links the collagen molecules in the cornea, and in doing so, makes it stiffer than it otherwise would be," thereby helping to alleviate the two conditions. According to WLS-TV, "preliminary results have shown CXL effectively stabilizes eyes."