Uysal Alper, İlhan Çağrı, Erdem Uysal Merve, Gül Tuğçe, Güzel Murat
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic, Mersin City Training and Research Hospital, Mersin, Turkey.
Opthalmology Clinic, Dünyagöz Hospital, Baku, Azerbaijan.
Int Ophthalmol. 2025 May 27;45(1):213. doi: 10.1007/s10792-025-03588-1.
Structures such as the cornea, Achilles tendon (AT), plantar fascia (PF), and cartilage share the common feature of containing collagen and being associated with collagenous tissue disorders. However, the relationship between keratoconus and AT and PF thicknesses has not been investigated before. The importance of this study lies in the potential to identify a link between keratoconus and conditions such as Achilles tendinitis, plantar fasciitis, or osteoarthritis.
This prospective, comparative study includes 33 keratoconus patients and 33 age- and gender-matched controls. AT, PF, talar cartilage (TC), and distal femoral cartilage (DFC) thicknesses were obtained by ultrasound (US). US parameters of the study and control groups were compared.
The mean AT and PF thicknesses were significantly higher in the study group (p = 0.002 and p < 0.001, respectively). On the other hand, the mean lateral femoral condyle (LFC), medial femoral condyle (MFC), DFC, and TC thicknesses were significantly lower in the study group (p < 0.001, for all). There was a significant correlation between corneal thickness and AT thickness (r = - 0.482, p = 0.005) and between corneal thickness and intercondylar area (IA) thickness (r = 0.367, p = 0.036). No significant relationship was found between maximum keratometry and US parameters, and BCV index and US parameters (p > 0.05, for all).
This study clearly demonstrates that patients with keratoconus have significant PF, tendon and cartilage thickness abnormalities. Keratoconus patients may have a tendency to develop conditions such as Achilles tendinitis, plantar fasciitis, or osteoarthritis.
诸如角膜、跟腱（AT）、足底筋膜（PF）和软骨等结构具有共同特征，即都含有胶原蛋白且与胶原组织疾病相关。然而，圆锥角膜与跟腱及足底筋膜厚度之间的关系此前尚未得到研究。本研究的重要性在于有可能确定圆锥角膜与跟腱炎、足底筋膜炎或骨关节炎等病症之间的联系。
这项前瞻性比较研究纳入了33例圆锥角膜患者以及33例年龄和性别匹配的对照者。通过超声（US）测量跟腱、足底筋膜、距骨软骨（TC）和股骨远端软骨（DFC）的厚度。比较研究组和对照组的超声参数。
研究组的跟腱和足底筋膜平均厚度显著更高（分别为p = 0.002和p < 0.001）。另一方面，研究组的股骨外侧髁（LFC）、股骨内侧髁（MFC）、股骨远端软骨和距骨软骨平均厚度显著更低（所有p < 0.001）。角膜厚度与跟腱厚度之间存在显著相关性（r = -0.482，p = 0.005），角膜厚度与髁间面积（IA）厚度之间也存在显著相关性（r = 0.367，p = 0.036）。在最大角膜曲率与超声参数之间，以及BCV指数与超声参数之间未发现显著关系（所有p > 0.05）。
本研究清楚地表明，圆锥角膜患者存在明显的足底筋膜、肌腱和软骨厚度异常。圆锥角膜患者可能有患跟腱炎、足底筋膜炎或骨关节炎等病症的倾向。
