What is Corneal Collagen crosslinking?
Corneal collagen crosslinking is a procedure that helps patients that struggle with their eyeglasses or contact lenses no longer providing effective correction of their vision impairment caused by a condition called keratoconus. Corneal crosslinking is an exciting treatment for keratoconus and is available at only a few select practices designated as test sites by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Holzman Vision correction centers serving McLean, Charlottesville and Rockville are sanctioned by the Food and Drug Administration as test sites. Corneal collagen cross-linking is a non-invasive, biological solution in which the weakened collagen fibers in the cornea are strengthened through the use of ultraviolet (UV) light. To learn more about crosslinking visit www.drholzman.com. The article included in this blog will shed a little more light on corneal cross linking and how it started.
“Corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) was developed in 1998 by Theo Seiler, MD, and has been shown in numerous clinical trials to strengthen the eye’s clear surface (cornea) through the application of riboflavin, a form of vitamin-B2, followed by treatment with ultraviolet A (UV-A) light.
The two basic types of corneal cross linking are:
- Epithelium off, which means the thin layer covering the eye’s surface is removed, allowing for faster penetration with liquid riboflavin.
- Transepithelial corneal cross linking (epithelium on) is where the corneal epithelial surface is left intact, which requires a longer riboflavin loading time.
Cross linking with riboflavin and UV-A light has proven to be a first-line treatment for people with eye conditions such as keratoconus, pellucid marginal degeneration and corneal weakness (ectasia) after LASIK.
While cross linking is used in virtually every country around the world, it is still in the FDA approval process in the United States. Both Avedro and Topcon are working to get their brands of riboflavin drops and UV light sources approved by the FDA. As well, many other single-center and multi-center clinical trials are evaluating CXL in the U.S.”
Source: allaboutvision.com
