High cholesterol: Arcus senilis is a sign your levels are too high – what is it?

“The presence of arcus was noted in 70 percent of patients above 60 years of age.

“The probable reason is the increased permeability of limbal vessels with age allowing low-density lipoproteins to pass through the cornea.

“There was no correlation between the thickening of the peripheral arteries or increased diastolic blood pressure with the incidence of arcus.

“As serum triglyceride is one of the accurate of lipid metabolic state, greater importance was given, and it was found to be elevated in 72 percent of patients and a positive correlation with increasing age.”

The study concluded that fasting serum triglyceride, one of the accurate indices of functional status of lipid metabolism was raised in 72 percent of cases suggesting a strong correlation between impairment of lipid metabolism and incidence of corneal arcus.