PURPOSE: To report the histology of a cornea in a patient with apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) deficiency. METHODS: A cornea from a patient with apoA-I deficiency was obtained by keratoplasty and examined histologically. RESULTS: There were many small vesicles in the extracellular matrix throughout the corneal stroma. The vesicles were round or oval, and their diameters ranged from 200 nm to 2 microm. These histologic properties suggest that the small vesicles are lipid droplets. CONCLUSIONS: Myriad lipid droplets in the extracellular matrix in the corneal stroma induce diffuse corneal opacity in a patient with apoA-I deficiency.
PURPOSE: To report the histology of a cornea in a patient with apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) deficiency. METHODS: A cornea from a patient with apoA-I deficiency was obtained by keratoplasty and examined histologically. RESULTS: There were many small vesicles in the extracellular matrix throughout the corneal stroma. The vesicles were round or oval, and their diameters ranged from 200 nm to 2 microm. These histologic properties suggest that the small vesicles are lipid droplets. CONCLUSIONS: Myriad lipid droplets in the extracellular matrix in the corneal stroma induce diffuse corneal opacity in a patient with apoA-I deficiency.