Tears of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) are most commonly associated with vascularised RPE detachment due to age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and they usually involve a deleterious loss in visual acuity. Recent studies suggest an increase in RPE tear incidences since the introduction of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapies as well as a temporal association ...

Tear film stability can be assessed via a number of tools designed for clinical as well as research purposes. These techniques can give us insights into the tear film, and allow assessment of conditions that can lead to dry eye symptoms, and in severe cases, to significant ocular surface damage and deterioration of vision. Understanding what drives tear film instability and its assessment is al...

Evaluation of tear volume is important for diagnosing dry eye disease. At the clinical site, dedicated devices such as slit lamp microscopy or Schirmer’s test strip have been used to quantify tear volume by ophthalmologist. However, these devices have access only in medical office and therefore have limited availability for the public. Tear volume changes with environmental, physical or psychol...

Conjunctivochalasis (CCh) disrupts tear flow and damages tear film stability. This study sought to evaluate the tear stability and contrast sensitivity of patients with CCh on whom CCh excision was performed. The study included 39 eyes from 39 patients; all patients had eyes with grade 2 or 3 CCh, underwent CCh excision, and were evaluated before and three months after the surgery. The evaluate...

Atopic keratoconjunctivitis (AKC) is an ocular inflammatory condition associated with atopic dermatitis. AKC is classified as ocular allergy but with features quite different from common seasonal allergic conjunctivitis. The clinical picture includes eyelid eczema, blepharitis, conjunctivitis, and some degree of keratitis. The condition is chronic and normally starts off in young adulthood with...

PURPOSE To synthesize an interference color chart for the specific tear lipid layer interference camera, DR-1, for the conversion of the tear film lipid layer thickness into color graphic information--that is, for the quantification of the tear interference image--by a colorimetric approach. METHODS Because the color of the tear lipid layer interference image is visualized by a white light so...

The first aim of this study was to clarify whether cigarette smoking affects tear secretion, goblet cell density, and tear MUC5AC concentration. The second purpose was to evaluate the correlations of conjunctival goblet cell density with tear MUC5AC concentration and other ocular surface evaluation factors. This cross-sectional study included 88 office workers. All subjects were required to fil...