Enviromental proteinaceous corneal degeneration: Prevalence in different regions of Argentina

CORREA L; SUAREZ MF; MONTI R; ESPOSITO E; GONZALEZ-CASTELLANOS E; URRETS ZAVALIA JA; SERRA HM

Orlando, FL

Congreso; ARVO Annual Meeting; 2014

This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the prevalence of EPCD/CDK in the El Cuy department and the possible existence of this disease in three other regions of Argentina. The study involved individuals living in one of these four regions of Argentina (fig 1): Region 1: Santa Catalina Department, Jujuy Province (n: 152). Region 2: Quebrachos Department, Santiago del Estero Province (n: 154). Region 3: El Cuy Department, Negro Province (n: 102). Region 4: General Roca Department, Río Negro Province (113). All patients received a complete eye examination by a group of trained ophthalmologists. The sampling method was non probabilistic consecutive patients. During the anamnesis patients were inquired about work activity, diet and use of protective eyewear (glasses, hats). The levels of ascorbic acid (AA) in individuals? serum from regions 1, 3 and 4 was also studied using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). We determine the total ozone (O3) column concentration for these regions and UVB radiation at ground using the National Aero-Spatial Agency website (NASA, USA), and DayLight program, version 2.3.10 (M. Schuster, Pharmazeutische Botanikund Institut für Biologie, University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany, 2000-2001). Student, ANOVA and Pearson tests were used to compare values and the statistical significance was set at p