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The human tear film is a 3-layered coating of the surface of the eye and a loss, or reduction, in any layer of this film may result in a syndrome of blurry vision and burning pain of the eyes known as dry eye. The lacrimal gland and accessory glands provide multiple components to the tear film, most notably the aqueous. Dysfunction of these glands results in the loss of aqueous and other produc...

The successful development of a therapeutic agent targeting treatment of dry eye syndrome necessitates the demonstration of drug efficacy for both sign and symptom endpoints. As numerous therapeutic strategies incorporate a secretagogue function into their overall mechanism of action, the quantitative assessment of tear production serves as a logical endpoint to anchor "sign" efficacy. Although...

MUC5AC is the most abundant gel-forming mucin in the ocular system. However, the specific function is unknown. In the present study, a Muc5ac knockout (KO) mouse model was subject to various physiological measurements as compared to its wide-type (WT) control. Interestingly, when KO mice were compared to WT mice, the mean tear break up time (TBUT) values were significantly lower and corneal flu...

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of ocular surface disease symptoms and the state of the tear film among patients with glaucoma who are receiving topical intraocular pressure lowering monotherapy. 62 responders were divided in 2 groups: 32 glaucoma patients and 30 healthy individuals. Tear film break-up time (TBUT), Schirmer 1 testing and ocular surface disease question...

PURPOSE To classify blinks in dry eye and normal subjects into six subtypes, and to define the blink rate and duration within each type of blink, as well as the total lid-contact time/minute. MATERIALS AND METHODS This was a single-centered, prospective, double-blind study of eleven dry-eye and ten normal subjects. Predefined subjects watched a video while blinks were recorded for 10 minutes....

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the accuracy of the McMonnies questionnaire (MQ) as a screening tool for dry eye (DE) among Chinese ophthalmic outpatients. METHODS We recruited 27718 cases from 94 hospitals (research centers), randomly selected from 45 cities in 23 provinces from July to November in 2013. Only symptomatic outpatients were included and they were in a high risk of DE. Outpatients meeting...

AIM Validating the hypothesis that accommodative microfluctuations (AMFs) may be associated with severe symptoms in short tear break-up time (BUT) dry eye (DE). METHODS This study included 12 subjects with short BUT DE (age: 49.6±18.3 years). Diagnoses were performed based on the presence of DE symptoms, BUT ≤5 s, Schirmer score >5 mm, and negative keratoconjunctival epithelial damage. Tear e...

Aim: To develop a reliable and objective non-touch technique for determination of tear volume and tear secretion by means of tear film fluorophotometry. Methods: 10 defined concentrations of sodium fluorescein were given in an artificial chamber and measured by the Fluorotron Master (Coherent Radiation Inc). A calibration line was established and the calibration equation was programmed into the...

During the past decades, worldwide clinical and scientific interest in dry needling (DN) therapy has grown exponentially. Various clinical effects have been credited to dry needling, but rigorous evidence about its potential physiological mechanisms of actions and effects is still lacking. Research identifying these exact mechanisms of dry needling action is sparse and studies performed in an a...