Abstract
Purpose: :
To compare the levels of inflammatory cytokines in serum and tear fluid samples between the rosacea subjects and healthy controls.
Methods: :
Thirty patients with rosacea and 22 healthy controls were included in the study. All subjects underwent a dermatological and ophthalmological examination. Serum and minimally stimulated tear samples were obtained from each subject and Luminex technology was used to measure the interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), macrophage inhibitory protein-1 (MIP-1), epidermal growth factor (EGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) cytokine levels.
Results: :
Blepharitis, conjunctival hyperemia, meibomian gland dysfunction and telengiectasia were observed in 53.1%, 56.3%, 37.5% and 21.9% of the rosacea group, respectively. Serum IL-8 level was significantly higher in the rosacea group (15.53±67.83 pg/ml) than the control group (6.56±10.35 pg/ml) (p=0.03). Tear concentrations of IL-10 and VEGF were lower in the rosacea group (42.82±39.63 and 390.21±140.91 pg/ml, respectively) than the control group (202.64±546.03 and 524.88±192.39 pg/ml, respectively) (p<0.001 and p=0.005, respectively).
Conclusions: :
Increased level of serum IL-8, which is a potent chemotactic cytokine, might support the role of infectious agents in the pathogenesis of rosacea. The cytokine levels show a high variation within the population; therefore bigger sample size is needed to confirm the association of cytokines with rosacea.
Keywords: cornea: tears/tear film/dry eye • cytokines/chemokines • inflammation