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Dry Eye (Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca), Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Sjögren’s Syndrome

2005; Elsevier BV; Volume: 140; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.ajo.2005.06.031

1879-1891

Michael A. Lemp,

Contact Dermatitis and Allergies

Dry eye or keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) is a common condition. Recent studies suggest that over 9 million Americans suffer from a moderate to severe form of this disease and many millions more are thought to have either a milder form of the disease and/or intermittent manifestations.1,2 The initiating factors include a diverse group of abnormalities including systemic autoimmune disease, hormonal changes, neurologic lesions, age-related changes in apoptotic cellular death, and iatrogenic and workplace-related causes such as LASIK surgery and video display terminal use.3 Regardless of the initiating factors, all forms of dry eye have common global features at the ocular surface-tear film interface. These include: an elevated tear osmolarity, instability of the tear film, that is, rapid break up of the tear film between blinks, damage to the ocular surface, and irritative symptoms.4 To this list recent reports have added visual aberrations.5,6