PURPOSE To elucidate the effect of the cotton thread test (CT-T) and Schirmer test (S-T) on the tear reservoir by evaluating the radius of tear meniscus curvature. METHODS The radii (R) of the central lower tear menisci were measured by a newly developed video meniscometer in 11 eyes of 11 normal volunteers (6 men, 5 women; mean age, 27.7 +/- 3.6 years [SD]) and 9 eyes of 9 patients with tear...

PURPOSE To compare the effects of high- (Group 1) and low-dose (Group 2) isotretinoin treatments for acne vulgaris on lacrimal functions and other ocular complications. METHODS Twenty-six patients receiving high-dose (>0.5 mg/kg per day) systemic isotretinoin treatment and 25 patients treated with low-dose systemic isotretinoin (<0.5 mg/kg per day) underwent complete ophthalmologic assessment...

OBJECTIVE To screen for potential efficacy and assess feasibility and safety of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) as a treatment for Sjögren's syndrome (SS). METHODS A 24-week randomized, double-blinded, pilot trial of oral DHEA (200 mg/day) versus placebo was conducted. The primary comparison was to a hypothesized 20% placebo response rate. If 14 consecutive subjects on DHEA did not respond, a P...

PURPOSE To evaluate the clinical efficacy of newly developed guidelines for the diagnosis and management of dry eye. METHODS This retrospective, multi-center, non-randomized, observational study included a total of 1,612 patients with dry eye disease who initially visited the clinics from March 2010 to August 2010. Korean guidelines for the diagnosis and management of dry eye were newly devel...

Spontaneous opening and closing of both eyes usually occurs in the normal awake state, unless a deliberate and voluntary attempt is made to open only one eye. We present a rare case of a male patient who was unable to open both eyes simultaneously after bilateral posterior cerebral artery infarction. He was able to close both eyes voluntarily. However, he was unable to keep both eyes open simul...

OBJECTIVE To study electrical stimulation of the lacrimal gland and afferent nerves for enhanced tear secretion, as a potential treatment for dry eye disease. We investigate the response pathways and electrical parameters to safely maximize tear secretion. APPROACH We evaluated the tear response to electrical stimulation of the lacrimal gland and afferent nerves in isofluorane-anesthetized ra...

PURPOSE The aim of the present study was the in vitro and in vivo evaluation of a novel aqueous formulation based on polymeric micelles for the topical delivery of cyclosporine A for dry eye treatment. METHODS In vitro experiments were carried out on primary rabbit corneal cells, which were characterized by immunocytochemistry using fluorescein-labeled lectin I/isolectin B4 for the endothelia...

PURPOSE To investigate corneal sensitivity to selective mechanical, chemical, heat, and cold stimulation in patients with fibromyalgia (FM). METHODS Twenty patients with FM (18 women, 2 men; 51.9 +/- 2.3 years old) and 18 control subjects (16 women, 2 men; 51.7 +/- 2.4 years) participated voluntarily in the study. Subjective symptoms of ocular dryness were explored and a Schirmer I test was p...