{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]],"date-time":"2026-02-24T10:28:14Z","timestamp":1771928894941,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":22,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]],"date-time":"2026-02-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1771891200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Objectives: To characterize the clinical features, corneal topography, and imaging findings of peripheral hypertrophic subepithelial corneal degeneration (PHSCD) in a single-center study and to evaluate potential associations with systemic conditions. Methods: All patients underwent comprehensive ophthalmic examination, anterior segment photography, high-resolution spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT), and corneal topography\/tomography. Patient demographics, ocular history, systemic conditions, and corneal parameters were analyzed. Results: Fourteen patients were included in the study (11 females and 3 males). The mean age was 52.6 \u00b1 12.4 years, and the mean best-corrected visual acuity was 0.56 \u00b1 0.23. Five females had Hashimoto\u2019s disease and two had hyperthyroidism. The mean central corneal thickness was 549.4 \u03bcm (SD = 71.0 \u03bcm), with significant sectoral thickness variations, particularly in the superior-nasal quadrants (SN-IT sector mean difference: 56.4 \u03bcm). High-resolution OCT revealed sharply demarcated, hyperreflective fibrosis within the anterior stroma, predominantly in the superior-nasal quadrants, causing corneal flattening with compensatory steepening and astigmatism. Three patients underwent in vivo confocal microscopy, which showed fibrotic acellular tissue adjacent to normal corneal epithelium. Conclusions: PHSCD predominantly affects middle-aged females and presents with characteristic peripheral, subepithelial fibrosis, causing significant corneal thickness variations and astigmatism. The observed association with thyroid disorders, particularly Hashimoto\u2019s disease, suggests a potential immunological component in PHSCD pathogenesis that warrants further investigation. Advanced imaging with OCT and confocal microscopy provides valuable diagnostic information to accurately characterize this rare corneal condition.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm15051681","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]],"date-time":"2026-02-24T08:54:56Z","timestamp":1771923296000},"page":"1681","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Peripheral Hypertrophic Subepithelial Corneal Degeneration"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7295-4936","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Adam","family":"Wyl\u0119ga\u0142a","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Experimental Ophthalmology Unit, Department of Biophysics, Division of Dentistry, II School of Medicine, Zabrze Medical University of Silesia, 40-752 Katowice, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-7416-4354","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Claudia","family":"Azzaro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ophthalmology Clinic, Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, 98122 Messina, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-1806-3268","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Patrycja","family":"Potrawa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ophthalmology Department, Railway Hospital, Zabrze Medical University of Silesia, 40-752 Katowice, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1185-6942","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gabriella","family":"De Salvo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Eye Unit, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK"},{"name":"Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6707-5790","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Edward","family":"Wyl\u0119ga\u0142a","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ophthalmology Department, Railway Hospital, Zabrze Medical University of Silesia, 40-752 Katowice, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8083-3437","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anna","family":"Roszkowska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ophthalmology Clinic, Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, 98122 Messina, Italy"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski, 30-705 Krakow, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"266","DOI":"10.1097\/01.icl.0000087489.61955.82","article-title":"Peripheral hypertrophic subepithelial corneal degeneration","volume":"29","author":"Maust","year":"2003","journal-title":"Eye Contact Lens"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"443","DOI":"10.1111\/aos.15303","article-title":"Risk factors for peripheral hypertrophic subepithelial corneal opacification","volume":"101","author":"Riedl","year":"2023","journal-title":"Acta Ophthalmol."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"71","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jtos.2021.11.009","article-title":"Peripheral hypertrophic subepithelial corneal degeneration versus Salzmann\u2019s nodular degeneration: A clinical and surgical comparison","volume":"23","author":"Auteri","year":"2022","journal-title":"Ocul. 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