Sjögren's Syndrome (SS) is a human autoimmune disease characterized by immune-mediated destruction of the lacrimal and salivary glands. In this study, we show that the Aire-deficient mouse represents a new tool to investigate autoimmune dacryoadenitis and keratoconjunctivitis sicca, features of SS. Previous work in the Aire-deficient mouse suggested a role for alpha-fodrin, a ubiquitous Ag, in ...

Data are reported on a series of 52 endoscopic procedures of dacryocystorhinostomy, performed in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of the Hospital of Varese, between May 1999 and February 2003. The study population comprised 42 patients (32 female, 10 male. mean age 57 and 51 years, respectively) with naso-lacrimal obstruction. In all cases, pre-operative diagnosis consisted in irrigation o...

The Lacrimal apparatus starts from the lacrimal gland and ends at the Nasolacrimal ducts. The apparatus consists of the lacrimal gland and the lacrimal pathway. The integrity of the Lacrimal Apparatus in its secretory function and in its drainage mechanism is most vital for the normal functioning of the eye. Any factor which upsets the drainage mechanism distal to the sac or at the Nasolacrimal...

OBJECTIVE To determine the usefulness of "routine" lacrimal sac biopsy to evaluate unsuspected neoplasm or systemic disease in patients with acquired nasolacrimal duct obstruction. DESIGN Noncomparative, interventional case series with histopathologic correlation. PARTICIPANTS Review of charts revealed histopathologic reports on 302 specimens from 258 patients who had undergone routine dacr...

PURPOSE The purpose of the present study was to investigate the roles of caspase 1 and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) in inflammation-induced inhibition of lacrimal gland secretion. METHODS Lacrimal gland inflammation was induced by injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS; to study the role of caspase 1) or IL-1beta (to study the role of ERK). Lacrimal gland protein secretion was me...

PURPOSE This study was conducted to seek sex differences in mRNA expression in normal mouse lacrimal glands. Gene expression differences in the lacrimal gland may contribute to susceptibility to lacrimal gland or ocular surface disease. METHODS A differential display analysis was performed on poly(A)+ RNA isolated from male and female Swiss Webster mouse exorbital lacrimal glands. Four potent...

PURPOSE Differential display analysis was used to look for gender differences in lacrimal gland gene expression. The expression of a female-specific mouse lacrimal gland mRNA that encoded pancreatic lipase-related protein 1 (PLRP1) was identified and characterized. METHODS Differential display analysis of the exorbital lacrimal glands of male and female Swiss Webster mice detected a potential...

The eye is a complex and highly developed organ which collects light from the surrounding environment, regulates its intensity through a diaphragm, focuses it through an adjustable lens to form an image on retina where this image is converted into a set of electrical signals transmitted to the brain. The eyes are protected in the skull by a bony box called the eye socket (orbit). The wall of th...

purpose: to report a case of free floating pyogenic granuloma within the lacrimal sac. case report: a 13 month old infant with unresolving dacryocystitis and history of two times failed probing and once failed turbinate fracture was scheduled for dacryocystorhinostomy (dcr). a free floating red mass was removed from the sac. histopathologic examination confirmed a diagnosis of pyogenic granulom...

Lacrimal sac diverticula are outpouchings of the lacrimal sac. Their various clinical symptoms complicate differential diagnosis. Here we report two patients of distinctive type of lacrimal sac diverticula. Each of them presented with a mass inferior to the medial canthus with a secreting fistula. Irrigation demonstrated lacrimal drainage system patency. The orificium fistula was located at low...