Age-Related Variation in the Biomechanical and Structural Properties of the Corneo-Scleral Tunic

Geraghty, Brendan ORCID: 0000-0003-0561-6667, Whitford, Charles, Boote, Craig, Akhtar, Riaz ORCID: 0000-0002-7963-6874 and Elsheikh, Ahmed ORCID: 0000-0001-7456-1749 (2015) Age-Related Variation in the Biomechanical and Structural Properties of the Corneo-Scleral Tunic In: Mechanical Properties of Aging Soft Tissues. Engineering Materials and Processes . Springer Nature, pp. 207-235. ISBN 9783319039695

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Summary

With increasing age, the mechanical performance of the corneaCornea and scleraSclera is impaired due to structural changes in the major structural proteins, namely collagensCollagen, proteoglycansProteoglycans and elastin. In addition, the level of hydration in the ocularOcular tunic decreases over time. These structural changes profoundly impact on the biomechanical properties of the corneo-scleral tunic. This chapter focuses on the structural and biomechanical changes that occur in the corneo-scleral tunic with age. The techniques that are utilized in order to determine the mechanical properties of both the cornea and sclera are discussed, and a comprehensive review of studies which have characterized age-related changes in ocular biomechanics are presented. The cornea is found to increase in stiffnessTendonStiffness with age and all the characteristics of viscoelastic behavior (creepIntervertebral Disc TissuesCreep, stress-relaxation and hysteresis) decrease with age. Similarly, the stiffness of the sclera increases markedly with age although the reported magnitude of stiffening varies significantly from one study to another. This may be related to variations amongst the different techniques that have been utilized. Increased stiffening in the cornea and the sclera with age is strongly associated with the increase in collagen crosslinking that occurs as part of the natural aging process.

Item Type:	Chapter
Uncontrolled Keywords:	40 Engineering, 32 Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, 3212 Ophthalmology and Optometry, Bioengineering, Aging, Eye Disease and Disorders of Vision
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	12 Oct 2015 09:43
Last Modified:	02 Jul 2026 18:57
DOI:	10.1007/978-3-319-03970-1_9
Related Websites:	Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/2002840
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