The globe of the eye is made of five layers and the cornea is the transparent front portion. It is also the most sensitive structure in the body because of the density of nerves. The cornea owes its transparency to the presence of a regular lattice structure of collagen fibres. Anything which affects this regularity results in loss of the transparency which is essential for good corneal function and health.
Corneal dystrophies form a group of rare disorders which usually affect both eyes.
They may be present at birth, but more frequently develop during adolescence and progress gradually throughout life. Some forms are mild, others severe. This group of disorders tends to run in families and the causes of most corneal dystrophies will lie in individual genetic make-up. Corneal Dystrophy Although age of onset, symptoms and progression differ in the various dystrophies, most cases of corneal dystrophy fall into three well defined clinical and genetic types, classified by their inheritance pattern and appearance. These are Dominant Granular Dystrophies, Recessive Macular Dystrophy and Dominant Lattice-like Dystrophies.