Diseases

Map-Dot-Fingerprint Dystrophy

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Map-dot-fingerprint type corneal dystrophy: a disorder in which the cornea (the normally clear front window of the eye) shows geographic map-like lines, dots (or microcysts), and grayish fingerprint lines on examination with a slit-lamp, a device that focuses a high intensity light beam as a slit while the examiner looks at the front of the eye through a magnifying scope

SYMPTOMS

Symptoms include blurred vision, pain in the morning that lessens during the day, sensitivity to light, excessive tearing, and a feeling that there's something in theeye. Map-dot-fingerprint dystrophy usually occurs in both eyes and affects adultsbetween the ages of 40 and 70, although it can develop earlier in life

CAUSES

Map-dot-fingerprint dystrophy occurs when the epithelium's basement membrane (the foundation on which epithelial cells anchor and organize themselves) develops abnormally. ... This, in turn, may cause recurrent epithelial erosion, where the epithelium's outermost layer rises slightly, creating a small gap