الفهرس 
EPIDEMIOLOGY OF KERATOCONUS
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Abstract
Corneal ectasia is a progressive degenerative disorder with gradual corneal steepening resulting in deterioration of vision and also the development of irregular astigmatism and excessive corneal thinning/scarring in advanced stages. Conventional corneal CXL with UVA and riboflavin is a „gold-standard‟ procedure to alter the corneal structures, to enhance corneal rigidity, and to arrest the progression of keratoconus. Recently several modifications have been introduced in the standard Dresden protocol to treat keratoconus in thin corneas without causing endothelial damage. Even though the majority of these improvised CXL protocols are found to be quite effective in arresting keratoconus progression without causing adverse effects, yet not enough evidence is available regarding the safety and efficacy of these protocols. Therefore, long-term follow-up studies with large sample sizes are required. Moreover, theoretically, it is possible to conduct individualized CXL treatment utilizing patient-specific adaptation to UV irradiation time. However, the minimum UV dosage required preventing keratoconus progression and the threshold level below which CXL treatment is ineffective is still unknown. This individualized treatment modality is fairly encouraging for advanced keratoconus and thus warrants more research.