EARLY LENS CHANGES SEEN IN PATIENTS WITH ATOPIC-DERMATITIS APPLYING IMAGE-ANALYSIS PROCESSING OF SCHEIMPFLUG AND SPECULAR MICROSCOPIC IMAGES

In order to know the initial lens changes that accompany atopic dermat itis (AD), 99 patients diagnosed dermatologically to have AD without a ny or with slight external ocular inflammations and with no habit of r ubbing the eyelid due to severe itching were examined opthalmologicall y. Clinically, none of them showed any cataractous changes in their ey es. For the sake of comparison with the above population, 4 AD patient s with cataractous eyes, 49 renal transplantation patients who were ad ministered steroids over a long period of time but clinically had no c ataractous lenses, and 94 healthy individuals with transparent lenses were also selected as subjects. The crystalline lenses of the subjects were examined using an anterior eye segment analysis system and specu lar microscopy. From Scheimpflug slit images of the lens, light scatte ring intensity of different lens layers was measured as an indicator o f lens transparency changes. The subcapsular basement membrane and cha nges in the lens epithelial layers were analyzed from specular images of these areas by image processing. Results and considerations from th e investigations were: (1) Initial lens changes in cases with AD which may be occult cataractous findings were often detectable. (2) Catarac t associated with AD can be accelerated by steroid administration or t he habit of strongly rubbing the eyelid, but this may not be the origi nal cause of cataract formation. (3) Two types of cataract are seen in patients with AD: (a) anterior subcapsular plaque formation and (b) a nterior and posterior subcapsular opacity formation. The latter type, however, is also accompanied by epithelial damage from the early stage . (4) Significant numbers of patients with AD who have not yet shown m anifest lens changes were found among the subjects.