BIOMARKERS OF OXIDATIVE STRESS IN PATIENTS WITH BLEPHARITIS SECONDARY TO OCULAR ROSACEA

Abstract

Purpose : To determine the biomarkers of oxidative stress that are present in tears of patients with blepharitis associated with active ocular rosacea.

Methods : Design: Descriptive, cross-sectional and observational.
Patients of any age or sex with compatible clinical signs and symptoms for ocular rosacea and patients without this diagnosis were included as a control group. Patients with ocular rosacea were classified according to severity according to the rosacea global consensus (ROSCO). A tear sample was taken through a capillary tube, a scraping of the tarsal conjunctiva was performed, and a sample of peripheral venous blood and eyelashes was taken. Superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, malondialdehyde and catalase were screened for by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the results were compared with those of the control group through analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Results : The tears of 26 eyes with ocular rosacea were compared with a control group of healthy patients. The average age was 52 years, 66% of the patients were women and 33% men.
The oxidative stress biomarker malondialdehyde was found to be increased in patients with ocular rosacea, while antioxidant factors such as superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase were decreased. Patients with ocular rosacea had higher oxidative stress biomarkers than patients without the disease with a p value <0.05. The biomarkers of oxidative stress were higher according to the clinical severity found with a p <0.05.
Oxidative stress occurs as a result of the breakdown of the balance between the antioxidant system and the oxidant system found in cells, this as a result of inflammation, in ocular rosacea inflammatory factors are present such as nuclear factor kappa B, interleukin 6, interleukin 8, tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 18, and metalloproteinase 9 and 2.

Conclusions : The amount of oxidative stress biomarkers was higher in patients with ocular rosacea, such as malonaldehyde, and antioxidant factors such as superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase decreased. These biomarkers were correlated with the clinical severity of ocular rosacea.

This abstract was presented at the 2023 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in New Orleans, LA, April 23-27, 2023.