Abstract
Purpose :
Dry eye syndrome (DES) is a multifactorial and complex disease with high prevalence among the population.
We have previously shown that protein concentration is decreased and malondialdehyde (MDA, a marker of lipid peroxidation) is increased in tears from elderly patients (Benlloch et al., 2013).
It is also known that, diabetic patients often display dry eye symptoms and decreased tear production, this fact could affect in some way, the disruption of visual function.
DES is usually treated with eye drops and treatment adherence is vital, because non-adherence could produce lesions and ulcers in the cornea, being these more difficult to treat.
The aim of this study was double: to evaluate the adherence to treatment in patients diagnosed with DES and to determine the differences in the composition of tears from non-diabetic and diabetic patients.
Methods :
The study was adjusted to adhere to the requirements of Spanish law. A total of 115 subjects participated in this study. 83 patients answered a questionnaire about their use of DES medication. Tears from 16 non-diabetic (ND) and 16 diabetic (D) patients were collected with the help of a Schirmer strip. The total protein content of tears was measured by means of the Lowry method (Lowry et al., 1951) and MDA concentration was determined according to a modification of the method used by Richard et al. (1992).
Results :
74.70% of the patients that answered the questionnaire were women, and 63,86% of them were over 50 years of age. 22.89% of patients affirmed that they have decreased the use of the drugs for eye dryness in the last years because of the pricing of this product. Most patients did not know how or when to use this kind of products. There were no differences in the answers given by ND or D patients.
Tears from D patients have a decreased total protein concentration, compared to tears obtained from ND patients. MDA concentration increased with age both in ND and D patients. ND women had higher MDA tear concentration that men, however, this difference was not observed in D patients.
Conclusions :
Both ND and D patients showed a poor adherence to DES treatment. There are differences in the protein concentration in the tears from D patients when compared to ND patients. It is necessary to pay attention to the treatment adherence of this syndrome with special emphasis on D patients
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017.