Yu Mingyi, Liu Chang, Mehta Jodhbir S, Liu Yu-Chi
Tissue Engineering and Cell Therapy Group, Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore, Singapore.
Department of Cornea and External Eye Disease, Singapore National Eye Centre, The Academia, 20 College Road, Discovery Tower, Singapore, S169856, Singapore.
Eye Vis (Lond). 2024 Nov 1;11(1):43. doi: 10.1186/s40662-024-00409-x.
Over the past few decades, the expanded applications of in-vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) have greatly enhanced the knowledge of a variety of conjunctival diseases. IVCM allows non-invasively detailed observation of tarsal, palpebral and bulbar conjunctiva, from the superficial to the substantia propria at the cellular level. IVCM has been shown as a powerful tool for the assessment of morphological changes in both physiological and pathological conditions. High-resolution images of different cellular phenotypes, together with quantifiable results, open new insights into understanding the mechanisms of conjunctival diseases, as well as provide valuable and longitudinal information for the diagnosis and therapeutic evaluation. This review aims to provide an overview of the current knowledge on the applications of IVCM on conjunctival disorders, including aging changes, dry eye-related morphological changes, glaucoma and glaucoma surgery-related morphological changes, conjunctival neoplasm, pterygium, allergic conjunctivitis, trachomatous scarring, and the conjunctiva-associated lymphoid tissue (CALT) changes. In this review, we highlight the key findings of previous studies and discusses the current limitations and challenges of IVCM in assessing the structural characteristics of the conjunctiva. Furthermore, we consider possible future directions for unlocking the full potential of IVCM applications. The insights presented here will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the applications of IVCM in conjunctival diseases.
在过去几十年中，共聚焦显微镜检查（IVCM）的应用范围不断扩大，极大地增进了我们对多种结膜疾病的了解。IVCM能够在不进行侵入性操作的情况下，从细胞层面详细观察睑板、睑结膜和球结膜，直至固有层的浅表部位。IVCM已被证明是评估生理和病理状态下形态学变化的有力工具。不同细胞表型的高分辨率图像以及可量化的结果，为理解结膜疾病的发病机制开辟了新的视角，同时也为诊断和治疗评估提供了有价值的纵向信息。本综述旨在概述IVCM在结膜疾病应用方面的现有知识，包括老化变化、干眼相关的形态学变化、青光眼及青光眼手术相关的形态学变化、结膜肿瘤、翼状胬肉、过敏性结膜炎、沙眼瘢痕以及结膜相关淋巴组织（CALT）变化。在本综述中，我们突出了以往研究的关键发现，并讨论了IVCM在评估结膜结构特征方面目前存在的局限性和挑战。此外，我们还思考了释放IVCM应用全部潜力的未来可能方向。此处呈现的见解将有助于更全面地理解IVCM在结膜疾病中的应用。
