S.Yamini Sudha Lakshmi, C. Senthil, Madhumitha Suresh
Several eye diseases such as Conjunctivitis, Dry eye, Blepharitis, Uveitis, Diabetic Retinopathy, Cataract etc. affect people on a daily basis. The etiological cause behind a few of these diseases includes infection, inflammation, topical medications, systemic medication, trauma, idiopathic etc. However, in some diseases like Acquired punctal stenosis in which the external opening of the lacrimal canaliculus is narrowed or occluded and Nasolacrimal Duct Obstruction in which there is tear duct blockage that results in obstruction of tear pathway, the etiology behind the disease remains unknown and is still under research. The main objective of this study was to determine if inflammation and infection would be the possible etiological cause behind these two diseases. In the present study, tear samples of 20 patients who were affected with NLD obstruction and APS disease were analysed. The presence of inflammatory marker MMP-9 was determined using InflammaDry point of care test in the tear samples of these patients and the results were positive indicating the presence of MMP-9. Further, the microorganisms present in the eyes of these patients were determined using Conjunctivitis Swab Test and were confirmed with Biochemical Tests. These include Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Moraxella catarrhalis, Serratiamarcescens. The amount of anti-oxidants and ascorbic acid present in these tear samples were also determined and it was found to be 19µM with a deviation of ±7µM in the case of ascorbic acid and 380µM with a deviation of ±150µM in the case of total anti-oxidant activity and they were correlated with normal values. The value of protein and LDH was found to be 3mg/mL and 160 U/L respectively. The presence of tear specific proteins such as Lactoferrin, Lysozyme, Albumin, Pre-Albumin, Protein-G were also determined using SDS-PAGE. The conclusion made from the result indicates that both Inflammation and Infection plays a role in the mechanism of these diseases.
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