TY - JOUR T1 - Association between keratoconus and atopy. JF - British Journal of Ophthalmology JO - Br J Ophthalmol SP - 816 LP - 822 DO - 10.1136/bjo.73.10.816 VL - 73 IS - 10 AU - R J Harrison AU - P T Klouda AU - D L Easty AU - M Manku AU - J Charles AU - C M Stewart Y1 - 1989/10/01 UR - http://bjo.bmj.com/content/73/10/816.abstract N2 - Sixty-seven patients with keratoconus were classified according to atopic status. Keratoconus patients with and without atopy did not differ significantly with regard to sex, age of onset, or rate of keratoplasty, but patients with very high IgE levels were more prone to graft rejection. Atopy was less common in patients with unilateral keratoconus, and keratoconus occurred more frequently on the side of the dominant hand. There was a significantly lower frequency of HLA B7 in the keratoconus group than in the controls. No abnormalities of essential fatty acid metabolism were found in keratoconus patients with or without atopy. There was no social class bias in the group. The study included a brother and sister with keratoconus and atopy, and a non-atopic patient whose identical twin did not have keratoconus. ER -