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Open research questions in Corneal Surgery and Treatments

184 gap statements mined from Corneal Surgery and Treatments papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 982 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

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What the literature leaves open

  • Future progress in the management of CoNV will depend on addressing several key scientific and translational challenges. A major priority is the continued elucidation of the mechanisms of MSCs and MSC-EVs, particularly their pharmacological properties, biodistribution, and interactions with resident corneal cell populations.

    Corneal Neovascularization: Pathogenesis, Current Insights and Future Strategies · 2026 · DOI

  • The most popular lines were shown to be unstable, tetraploid, lacking important epithelial markers, having aberrant differentiation and deviating from normal cells by gene expression patterns. This perspective reviews properties of various corneal epithelial cell lines and cautions against the use of virally transformed, especially tumorigenic cell lines, as seriously deviating form normal cells.

    On the Misuse of Virus-Transformed Human Corneal Epithelial Cells as Surrogates for Normal Cells · 2026 · DOI

  • Despite these advances, important scientific and technical challenges remain for widespread translation into the clinic. For epithelial and endothelial cells, efforts should focus on improving manufacturing efficiency and validating long-term functional stability in vivo. In contrast, for corneal stromal cells the field is still in early development.

    Clinical Applications of Corneal Cells Derived from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells · 2025 · DOI

  • Whether ER stress is involved in the upregulation of FADS1 expression in diabetic corneas remains to be investigated further. Although previous studies have demonstrated a close association between n-3 PUFAs and corneal function,50–52 the role of n-6 PUFAs in the cornea remains unclear.

    Fatty Acid Desaturase 1 Knockdown Promotes Wound Healing and Functional Recovery of the Corneal Epithelium in Diabetes · 2025 · DOI

  • The delicate balance between inflammation control and potential side effects, including delayed wound healing and increased risk of infection, is a challenge in using topical corticosteroids. The risk of long-term graft rejection is a significant challenge in corneal transplantation. The development of regenerative therapies is limited by the complexity of the corneal tissue and the need for further research.

    Regenerative Therapy for Corneal Scarring Disorders · 2024 · DOI

  • Corneal epithelial wound healing is essential for preserving vision after injury, yet the molecular programs coordinating this complex process remain incompletely understood.

    Long-Read Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Reveals Dynamic Isoform Changes During Corneal Epithelial Wound Healing in Cynomolgus Monkeys · 2026 · DOI

  • Future prospective investigations with standardized treatment assignments are warranted.

    Amniotic Membrane Transplantation versus Tarsorrhaphy for the Treatment of Persistent Corneal Epithelial Defects: A Comparative Study in a Tertiary Eye Care Facility in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia · 2026 · DOI

  • However, the crosstalk between these pathways and the underlying epitranscriptomic mechanisms remains poorly understood.

    m6A hypomethylation assembles a fibrogenic TCF7L2–Smad2/3 complex in pterygium · 2026 · DOI

  • Meanwhile, our data set could serve as a resource for further research on the molecular mechanisms of wound healing.

    Single-Cell Multiomics Analysis of Early Wound Response Programs in the Mouse Corneal Epithelium · 2025 · DOI

  • These cytokines contribute to the maintenance of nerve tissues via microglia and nerve regeneration; however, their role in corneal nerve involvement remains unknown.

    Clodronate liposome treatment contributes to the nerve regeneration in corneal nerve involvement of diabetic mice · 2024 · DOI

  • Dedifferentiation varies among tissues and organs, including Schwann cells, cardiac myocytes, and germ cells, but many aspects remain poorly understood.

    Myogenic Differentiation (MyoD) Gene Expression in Cornea and Role in Corneal Myofibroblast Dedifferentiation · 2026 · DOI

  • Finally, although approaches such as propensity score matching or sensitivity analyses could theoretically reduce selection bias, these methods were not feasible in this dataset due to the heterogeneous real-world nature of multi-center medical records and the lack of standardized baseline variables across hospitals.

    A multicenter retrospective study of non-traumatic corneal perforation: etiology, disease course, clinical manifestations, and treatment strategies · 2026 · DOI

  • Further studies are needed to investigate the use of corneal confocal microscopy in the treatment of recurrent pterygium after surgery. The role of HSV infection in recurrent pterygium or post-excision patients developing early postoperative epithelial or stromal keratitis needs to be further studied.

    Case Report: Antiviral treatment after pterygium surgery based on corneal confocal microscopy · 2026 · DOI

  • Several critical directions should be prioritized to fully exploit their translational potential: (1) Improving the mechanical properties of hAM is essential for repairing large tissue defects or for use in load-bearing environments.

    Advances in the application of human amniotic membrane for tissue repair · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should focus on head-to-head trials of different cell types (limbal vs. In contrast, for LSCD following chemical burns, the addition of MMC or bevacizumab has not been systematically studied, but the data from pterygium suggest that such combinations could be explored., 2025) should be validated in larger cohorts and potentially used as release criteria for clinical use.

    The Effectiveness of Limbal Stem Cell Transplantation on Ocular Surface Restoration and Corneal Clarity : A Systematic Review · 2026 · DOI

  • The study had a limited sample size, particularly in the intermediate and young donor groups. The study only investigated the impact of donor age, initial endothelial cell density, and organ culture duration on culture success.

    Key donor corneal factors governing successful expansion of human corneal endothelial cells · 2026 · DOI

  • Prior studies have not fully investigated the impact of donor-related factors on culture success. The optimal selection criteria for donor corneas are not well established.

    Key donor corneal factors governing successful expansion of human corneal endothelial cells · 2026 · DOI

  • Previous studies assessing changes in corneal curvature and IOL power after excision have reported variable results, with limited data from the Indian population.

    EFFECTS OF PTERYGIUM EXCISION ON IOL POWER CALCULATION AND ITS CO-RELATION WITH PTERYGIUM SIZE · 2026 · DOI

  • Recurrence, defined as the reappearance of fibrovascular tissue at the excision site, remains the principal challenge in postoperative management. The global prevalence of pterygium is estimated at approximately 10%, with substantial geographic variation. Variability in postoperative attendance may influence the timing of documented recurrences.

    Recurrence rate, time to recurrence, and associated factors after primary pterygium excision with conjunctival-limbal autograft: a prospective cohort study · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a lack of consistent evidence on the predictors of recurrence after primary pterygium excision. The study aims to address this gap by exploring potential demographic, clinical, surgical, and systemic inflammatory factors associated with recurrence.

    Recurrence rate, time to recurrence, and associated factors after primary pterygium excision with conjunctival-limbal autograft: a prospective cohort study · 2026 · DOI

  • The pathogenesis of pterygium remains unclear. The molecular mechanisms underlying UV-induced disease remain elusive.

    Loss of DNA-PK complex in recurrent pterygium suggests a role for defective double-strand break repair · 2026 · DOI

  • To the best of our knowledge, no reports have been published on the long-term changes in corneal tissue during the course of neuroparalytic keratopathy caused by destruction of the ophthalmic nerve in experimental animals.

    Essential roles of sensory nerve in maintenance of cornea-phenotype in mice · 2025 · DOI

  • The analysis is limited to a single time point (3 hours after woundtemporal dynaming), which may not capture…

    Single-Cell Multiomics Analysis of Early Wound Response Programs in the Mouse Corneal Epithelium · 2025 · DOI

  • The global shortage of donor corneas, particularly in developing regions, - The significant disparity between available donors and patients, - Challenges remain in translating these technologies to clinical…

    Advancements in Polymer Biomaterials as Scaffolds for Corneal Endothelium Tissue Engineering · 2024 · DOI

  • This study confirms the potential of the CS‐Gel + cell spray as a promising platform for LSCD therapy, warranting further investigation.

    A Novel Chitosan‐Gelatin Scaffold and Cell Spray Therapy for Treating Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Corneal Surgery and Treatments

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) Corneal epithelial wound healing is essential for preserving vision after injury, yet the molecular programs coordinating this complex process remain incompletely understood (“Long-Read Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Reveals Dynamic Isoform Changes During…”, 2026); (2) Future prospective investigations with standardized treatment assignments are warranted (“Amniotic Membrane Transplantation versus Tarsorrhaphy for the Treatment of…”, 2026); (3) The crosstalk between these pathways and the underlying epitranscriptomic mechanisms remains poorly understood (“m6A hypomethylation assembles a fibrogenic TCF7L2–Smad2/3 complex in pterygium”, 2026); (4) Dedifferentiation varies among tissues and organs, including Schwann cells, cardiac myocytes, and germ cells, but many aspects remain poorly understood (“Myogenic Differentiation (MyoD) Gene Expression in Cornea and Role in Corneal…”, 2026); (5) Further studies are needed to investigate the use of corneal confocal microscopy in the treatment of recurrent pterygium after surgery (“Case Report: Antiviral treatment after pterygium surgery based on corneal…”, 2026). 184 gap statements have been mined from Corneal Surgery and Treatments papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 982 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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