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Biochemical and molecular alterations and potential clinical applications of biomarkers in keratoconus
Vaitheeswaran Ganesan Lalgudi1, Rohit Shetty2, Kanwal Ken Nischal3, Setareh Ziai4, Mona Koaik4, Swaminathan Sethu5
1 Department of Cornea, External Disease and Refractive Surgery, University of Ottawa Eye Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada
2 Department of Cornea and Refractive Surgery, Narayana Nethralaya, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
3 UPMC Eye Centre; Department of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
4 Department of Cornea, External Disease and Refractive Surgery, University of Ottawa Eye Institute, The Ottawa Hospital; Department of Ophthalmology, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, ON, Canada
5 Molecular and Genetic Research, GROW Laboratories, Narayana Nethralaya Foundation, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Vaitheeswaran Ganesan Lalgudi
Department of Cornea, External Disease and Refractive Surgery, University of Ottawa Eye Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, 501, Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON
Canada
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/SJOPT.SJOPT_203_21
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Keratoconus (KC) is a complex multifactorial corneal ectatic disorder, with disease onset commonly in the second-third decades significantly affecting quantity, quality of vision, and quality of life. Several pathways and factors such as eye rubbing, inflammatory, oxidative, metabolic, genetic, and hormonal among others have been studied in the last two decades. However, the management of KC is still based on a few “one-size fits all” approaches and is predominantly guided by topo/tomographic parameters. Consideration of the several novel factors which have the potential to be biomarkers in addressing several unanswered questions in the disease process could help in the better predictive ability of progression or vision loss and customization of treatment options. This article delves into the understanding of these novel factors or biomarkers based on the pathogenesis of KC and features a special focus on their potential clinical applications and their future role in personalized medicine.
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