Abstract
Dry eye or keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) is a common ocular surface disease characterized by quantitative or qualitative abnormality of the tear film, ocular surface damage and ocular discomfort. It is a major health problem affecting millions of people worldwide: 11% 30 to 60 years old and 14.6% over 65 (4.3 million). Pflugfelder et al. have shown elevation of mRNA levels of inflammatory cytokines such as IL-la, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-a in conjunctival cytology specimens of Sjögren’s syndrome with KCS (SSKCS). These findings suggest that the inflammatory response plays a role in pathogenesis of SS-KCS. Recent evidence suggests the inflammatory response may also play a role in pathogenesis of non-SS-related KCS (NS-KCS) that affects most patients with dry eye. The conjunctival inflammatory status of NS-KCS has not been well studied. To investigate the role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of NS-KCS, we examined the expression of inflammatory cytokines in conjunctival biopsies from patients with NS-KCS and asymptomatic controls.
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© 2002 Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers
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Ye, H.Q., Chan, CC., Smith, J.A. (2002). Immunopathogenesis of Conjunctival Histopathologic Alteration in Non-Sjögren’s Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca. In: Sullivan, D.A., Stern, M.E., Tsubota, K., Dartt, D.A., Sullivan, R.M., Bromberg, B.B. (eds) Lacrimal Gland, Tear Film, and Dry Eye Syndromes 3. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 506. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0717-8_113
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0717-8_113
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
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