Acanthamoeba keratitis

disease

On this page

Also known as Acanthamoeba caused keratitiskeratitis, Acanthamoeba

Summary

Acanthamoeba keratitis (MONDO:0005629) is a disease and 10 clinical trials. Top therapeutic interventions include chlorhexidine, rose bengal free acid, and methylcellulose. A subtype of protozoa infectious disease — broader associated-gene and molecular evidence is on the parent page (see Disease family below).

At a glance

Prevalence: 1-9 / 100 000 (Europe) [Orphanet-validated]
Phenotypes (HPO): 15
Clinical trials: 10

Clinical features

Epidemiology

Prevalence records

1 prevalence record(s), Orphanet:

Type	Class	Value	Geography	Validation
Point prevalence	1-9 / 100 000	1	Europe	Validated

Signs & symptoms

Clinical features (HPO)

15 HPO clinical features (Orphanet curated; top 15 by frequency):

HPO ID	Term	Frequency
HP:0000481	Abnormal cornea morphology	Very frequent (80-99%)
HP:0000613	Photophobia	Very frequent (80-99%)
HP:0007856	Punctate opacification of the cornea	Very frequent (80-99%)
HP:0011495	Abnormal corneal epithelium morphology	Very frequent (80-99%)
HP:0200026	Ocular pain	Very frequent (80-99%)
HP:0000518	Cataract	Frequent (30-79%)
HP:0001089	Iris atrophy	Frequent (30-79%)
HP:0004329	Abnormality of the posterior segment of the globe	Frequent (30-79%)
HP:0012122	Anterior uveitis	Frequent (30-79%)
HP:0012155	Decreased corneal sensation	Frequent (30-79%)
HP:0100532	Scleritis	Frequent (30-79%)
HP:0100583	Corneal perforation	Frequent (30-79%)
HP:0000593	Abnormal anterior chamber morphology	Occasional (5-29%)
HP:0012040	Corneal stromal edema	Occasional (5-29%)
HP:0012804	Corneal ulceration	Occasional (5-29%)

Identifiers

Disease identifiers

Field	Value
Canonical name	Acanthamoeba keratitis
Mondo ID	MONDO:0005629
EFO	EFO:0007126
MeSH	D015823
Orphanet	67043
ICD-11	49744193
NCIT	C50450
SNOMED CT	231896005
UMLS	C0000880
MedGen	1268
GARD	0009285
MedDRA	10069408
Is cancer (heuristic)	no

Also known as: Acanthamoeba caused keratitis · keratitis, Acanthamoeba

Disease family

This is a subtype of protozoa infectious disease. Genetic, therapeutic, and trial evidence is largely curated at the broader-term level — see the parent page for the associated-gene cohort and molecular evidence.

Classification path: disease › human disease › disease by etiologic mechanism › disease of primarily extrinsic mechanism › infectious disease › parasitic infectious disease › protozoa infectious disease › Acanthamoeba keratitis

Genetics & variants

GWAS landscape

No GWAS associations recorded — common-variant (GWAS) studies don’t cover this disease (typical for Mendelian / rare diseases). See the curated gene cohort and Mendelian overlap below.

Variant details and genetic-evidence tiers

No tiered GWAS variants or ClinVar records for this disease.

Genes & proteins

No associated-gene cohort resolved for this disease. Atlas builds the molecular and therapeutic sections — associated genes, protein families, druggability, pathways, interactions, and drug associations — by aggregating over a disease’s associated genes (resolved via GWAS / GenCC / ClinVar / CIViC), and none resolved here. This is expected for antibody-mediated, autoimmune, or otherwise non-gene-defined conditions; the curated evidence for this disease is its clinical features, GWAS susceptibility, and clinical trials (above).

Function

No pathway enrichment — requires an associated-gene cohort.

Therapeutics

Drugs indicated for this disease

1 approved, 4 in late-stage (phase 3) trials. Disease-direct ChEMBL indications, not inferred from the associated-gene cohort below.

Drug	Development status
Polihexanide	Approved (phase 4)
Moxifloxacin	Phase 3 (in late-stage trials)
Natamycin	Phase 3 (in late-stage trials)
Propamidine	Phase 3 (in late-stage trials)
Rose Bengal Free Acid	Phase 3 (in late-stage trials)

Earlier-phase candidates (phase 2, investigational — efficacy not yet established): Chlorhexidine, Hypromellose, Povidone-Iodine.

Clinical trials & evidence

Clinical trials

Clinical trials: 10.

Phase distribution (across all retrieved trials)

Phase	Trials
Not specified	5
PHASE3	3
PHASE2	1
PHASE1	1

Top trials by phase / activity

NCT	Phase	Status	Title
NCT06213649	PHASE3	RECRUITING	Parasitic Ulcer Treatment Trial
NCT03274895	PHASE3	COMPLETED	Polihexanide (PHMB) Eye Drops in Patients Affected by Acanthamoeba Keratitis
NCT05110001	PHASE3	COMPLETED	Rose Bengal Electromagnetic Activation With Green Light for Infection Reduction
NCT03484507	PHASE2	COMPLETED	Parasitic Ulcer Treatment Trial Pilot
NCT02506257	PHASE1	COMPLETED	Safety and Tolerability of Preservative-free Polyhexamethylene Biguanide (PHMB) Ophthalmic Solution in Healthy Subjects
NCT07195864	Not specified	RECRUITING	Retrospective Chart Review of Patients With Acanthamoeba Keratitis Who Have Received 0.8 mg/mL Polihexanide as Part of the Medicines in Special Situations (Medicamentos en Situaciones Especiales) Program in Spain.
NCT02763605	Not specified	UNKNOWN	Retrospective Study of Acanthamoebic Keratitis During the Past 10 Years
NCT03461978	Not specified	COMPLETED	Ultrahigh-resolution Optical Coherence Tomography Imaging of the Anterior Eye Segment Structures
NCT06332703	Not specified	UNKNOWN	Acanthamoeba and Artificial Intelligence
NCT06641882	Not specified	COMPLETED	Retrospective Chart Review of Patients With Acanthamoeba Keratitis Who Have Received 0.8 mg/ml Polihexanide

Drugs tested across these trials (top 30)

Molecule	Max phase	Trials referencing
CHLORHEXIDINE	4	4
ROSE BENGAL FREE ACID	4	2
METHYLCELLULOSE	4	1
MOXIFLOXACIN	4	1
NATAMYCIN	4	1
POVIDONE-IODINE	4	1
PREDNISOLONE SODIUM PHOSPHATE	4	1
PROPAMIDINE	3	1
CHEMBL4740747	0	1
ROSE BENGAL	0	1

Drugs: Chlorhexidine, Rose Bengal Free Acid, Methylcellulose, Moxifloxacin, Natamycin, Povidone-Iodine, Prednisolone Sodium Phosphate, Propamidine