Fleck Corneal Dystrophy Symptoms, Causes, Types, Treatment

Corneal dystrophies are rare hereditary illnesses that damage the eye's front section. There are about 20 different varieties, each with a unique set of symptoms. All generate unwanted material buildup in the cornea. The vision gradually gets hazy or blurry as time goes on. Moreover, corneal dystrophies generally run in families. It frequently afflicts both eyes, however, one may be more severely affected. It affects both men and women alike, with the exception of Fuchs' dystrophy, which predominantly impacts women. It keeps other body parts unaffected

Fleck Corneal Dystrophy Symptoms

The majority of corneal dystrophies do not cause any systemic symptoms; instead, they exhibit variable-shaped corneal opacities inside a clear or hazy cornea, and they cause varying degrees of impairment to the patient's visual acuity.

Clinically, the corneal stroma is otherwise clear, but minute, transparent, gray-white, dandruff-like flakes can be found dispersed across all layers and reaching the periphery. Symptoms of this disease usually appear at birth or in early childhood. 

Patients who have CD may not exhibit any symptoms, but if they do, they often have a loss of visual acuity on both sides of their bodies, which manifests itself most frequently as irregular astigmatism. Patients may also experience symptoms like photophobia, dry eye, corneal edema, and repeated corneal erosions, based on the affected layer of the cornea. This is notably the case with epithelial-based CD, which results in a significant amount of discomfort.

Fleck Corneal Dystrophy Causes

The affected layers of the cornea determine how corneal dystrophies are caused. Protein changes result in deposits inside the corneal cells, which causes abnormal vision examination results. The masses of deposits that are frequently present in corneal dystrophies interfere with refraction, which results in a reduction in visual acuity. This is because the stroma is most accountable for visibility and light refraction.

Mutations in the genes are responsible for several corneal dystrophies. Knowledge of the genetic mutations that are responsible for these ailments has contributed to a greater understanding of the fundamental flaw that causes them as well as the development of molecular testing for the accurate diagnosis of these conditions.

Fleck Corneal Dystrophy Types

Corneal dystrophies are classified according to the corneal layers they impact. There are three primary groups, which are as follows:

1. Anterior or Superficial Corneal Dystrophies: The epithelium and Bowman's membrane, which are at the top of the cornea, are affected by these dystrophies.
2. Stromal Corneal Dystrophies: The stroma, or core layer, of the cornea, is typically affected by these dystrophies. They might advance into additional levels as well.
3. Posterior Corneal Dystrophies: This group has an effect on the two layers that are the farthest in, the endothelium and the Descemet membrane.

Fleck Corneal Dystrophy Treatment

The treatment of corneal dystrophies differs depending on the specific condition. Some patients are managed medically, while others have procedures such as DLEK (deep lamellar endothelial) and phototherapeutic keratectomy, which remove or ablate the aberrant corneal tissue. Treatment is not necessary for other dystrophies that are asymptomatic or less severe. The prognosis has significant phenotypic heterogeneity and ranges from no impact on vision to corneal blindness.