BACKGROUND Symptoms of dry eye and dry mouth are common in the elderly and are often debilitating. Previous research on small populations has been inconsistent regarding the contribution to sicca symptoms of autoimmune markers, medication use, and other factors. The objective of this study was to determine the population prevalence of symptoms of dry eye and dry mouth and to evaluate possible r...

PURPOSE To assess the clinical efficacy of a newly developed disposable eyelid-warming device (Eye Warmer) for the treatment of meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). METHODS The Eye Warmer was applied for 5 minutes to 44 eyes of 22 patients who exhibited decreased tear break-up time (BUT) and dry-eye symptoms. Its efficacy was assessed on the basis of BUT and dry-eye symptoms in the short-term s...

The purpose of this study was to compare the topical anti-inflammatory effects of the nonselective cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitor, ketorolac, with the selective COX-2 inhibitor, nimesulide, in an animal model of dry eye in albino rabbits. All animals were examined by the Schirmer test, tear break-up time (TBUT) and fluorescein corneal staining test. Dry eye model showed significant reduction in...

Dry eye syndrome is both a primary disease and a secondary result of many pathological states of the eye. The symptoms range from mild to severe itching, burning, irritation, eye fatigue, and even vision loss that can lead to disability. Dry eye affects approximately 60 million people worldwide; as a result, medications to treat dry eye comprise approximately 15% of the ophthalmic pharmaceutica...

PURPOSE To study the sequential postblink changes in ocular higher-order aberrations (HOAs) in patients with dry eye. METHODS A wavefront sensor was used to measure HOAs sequentially for 30 seconds in 20 eyes of 20 patients with dry eye. The 20 eyes were classified into two groups, with or without superficial punctate keratopathy (SPK) in the central cornea. During the measurement, subjects w...

PURPOSE To evaluate in vivo epithelial thickness in dry eye by anterior segment optical coherence tomography. DESIGN Observational, retrospective case-control study. METHODS Two age-matched groups of female subjects, 70 eyes each, age ≈ 55 years, were studied in clinical practice setting: a control (unoperated, no ocular pathology) and a dry eye group (clinically confirmed dry eye, unoperat...

PURPOSE The purpose of this work was to gather preliminary data in normals and dry eye subjects, using a new, non-invasive imaging platform to measure the thickness of pre-corneal tear film. METHODS Human subjects were screened for dry eye and classified as dry or normal. Tear film thickness over the inferior paracentral cornea was measured using laser illumination and a complementary metal-o...

PURPOSE To evaluate the sustained effect (up to 1 year) of a single, 12-minute vectored thermal pulsation (VTP) treatment in improving meibomian gland function and dry eye symptoms in patients with meibomian gland dysfunction and evaporative dry eye. METHODS The prospective, multicenter, open-label clinical trial included 200 subjects (400 eyes) who were randomized to a single VTP treatment (...

PURPOSE To determine whether proinflammatory cytokine genes were potential susceptibility candidate genes for Korean patients with non-Sjogren dry eye, we investigated the association of the interleukin 1 beta (IL1B), interleukin 6 (IL6), and interleukin 6 receptor (IL6R) variations with this disease in Korean patients. METHODS Genomic DNA was extracted from blood samples of unrelated non-Sjo...

Menthol is thought to stimulate lacrimation via activation of cold-sensitive primary afferent neurons in the cornea. We evaluated a warm compress containing menthol as a potential treatment for dry eye by examining its effects on the tear film in healthy subjects (n = 20) and dry eye patients (n = 35). Disposable eyelid-warming steamers that either did (MH) or did not (HO) contain menthol were ...