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      The application of in vivo laser confocal microscopy to the diagnosis and evaluation of meibomian gland dysfunction

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          Abstract

          Purpose

          To evaluate the morphological changes of the meibomian glands (MG) in patients with meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) compared to normal subjects by in vivo confocal microscopy and to investigate the relation of these changes to the clinical ocular surface findings and tear functions.

          Methods

          Twenty MGD patients and 15 normal subjects were recruited into this prospective study. Patients and controls underwent slit lamp examinations, tear film break-up time (BUT) measurements, fluorescein and Rose-Bengal stainings, Schirmer test I without anesthesia, tear evaporation rate assessment (TEROS), tear film lipid layer interferometry (DR-1), transillumination of the lids (meibography), MG expressibility test, and in vivo laser confocal microscopy of the lids (HRTII-RCM).

          Results

          The BUT, DR-1 tear film lipid layer interferometry grades, fluorescein and Rose-Bengal staining scores, MG drop out grade in meibography, and MG expressibility grades were significantly worse in MGD patients compared to normal controls (p<0.05). The severity of both MG dropout and MG expressibility related significantly with the BUT, DR-1 grades, and TEROS (p<0.05). The mean density of acinar units of MGs as measured by HRTII-RCM was significantly lower in MGD patients (47.6±26.6/mm 2) than in control subjects (101.3±33.8/mm 2; p<0.05). The mean acinar unit diameter as determined by HRTII-RCM was significantly larger in MGD patients (98.2±53.3 μm) than in controls (41.6±11.9 μm; p<0.05). Both the density and diameter of MG acinar units related significantly with the severity of MG dropout and MG expression grades (p<0.05).

          Conclusions

          In vivo confocal microscopy can effectively demonstrate the morphological changes of the MG in patients with MGD. Glandular acinar density and acinar unit diameter seemed to be promising new parameters of in vivo confocal microscopy, which is significantly related to the clinical ocular surface and tear function findings of MGD.

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          Most cited references30

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          Meibomian gland dysfunction: a clinical scheme for description, diagnosis, classification, and grading.

          G N Foulks, Anthony Bron (2003)
          Although meibomian gland disease (MGD) is one of the most common disorders encountered in ophthalmic practice, there has been no descriptive system consistently accepted to clinically characterize the anatomical and correlative biochemical alterations that occur in this condition. The purpose of this review is to synthesize a clinical description of meibomian gland disease and to provide a scheme for diagnosis, classification, and quantification that will be of value in the clinical setting and in the conduct of clinical trials.
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            Meibomian gland dysfunction in patients with Sjögren syndrome.

            S Shimmura, K. Tsubota, E Goto … (1998)
            Changes in the ocular surface of patients with Sjögren syndrome (SS) often are more severe than those in patients with dry eye without SS. This study was conducted to investigate the possible involvement of meibomian gland dysfunction in SS-related ocular surface abnormalities. A nonrandomized, prospective, clinical study. Twenty-seven eyes of 27 consecutive patients with SS (SS group) were studied. Twenty-nine eyes of age- and gender-matched non-SS patients with aqueous tear deficiency (non-SS group) were examined as control subjects. Changes in the ocular surface, tear function, and meibomian gland were examined. Tear evaporation rate, meibomian gland expression, and meibography were measured. Fluorescein and rose bengal staining scores were significantly higher in the SS group than in the non-SS group (P = 0.0001). Evaporation of tears was increased significantly in the SS group compared with the non-SS group. There were no significant differences in the rate of tear production between the SS and non-SS groups. Meibography showed that 11 (57.9%) of 19 eyes in the SS group had gland dropout (i.e., histologic destruction of meibomian glands) in more than half of the tarsus. The incidence was significantly higher than that in the non-SS group (5 [18.5%] of 27 eyes; P = 0.005). The results of this study indicate that destruction of meibomian glands and an increase in tear evaporation often are associated with changes in the ocular surface in patients with SS. Severe ocular surface changes in patients with SS may be attributed, in part, to the meibomian gland dysfunction.
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              Ocular evaporation in meibomian gland dysfunction and dry eye.

              Bradley Mathers (1993)
              Secretions from the meibomian gland are believed to be important in reducing ocular surface water evaporation and preventing dry eye. Patients with blepharitis frequently have meibomian gland dysfunction with loss of meibomian glands (drop out). The authors hypothesized that dry eye that often occurs in patients with chronic blepharitis is secondary to increased evaporation associated with gland loss. The authors measured the ocular surface water evaporation and tear osmolarity of patients with meibomian gland drop out and patients with gland drop out with a low Schirmer test. These findings were compared with those of a control group. The authors found that eyes with meibomian gland drop out and those with drop out and a low Schirmer test had a significantly higher evaporative rate at 30% relative humidity (average, 49.9 +/- 21 x 10(-7) g/cm2/second, or 0.49 +/- 0.29 microliters/minute evaporative loss per eye, and 59.1 +/- 28 x 10(-7) g/cm2/second, or 0.58 +/- 0.23 microliters/minute, respectively) when compared with those in the control group (average, 14.8 +/- 6 x 10(-7) g/cm2/second, or 0.15 +/- 0.07 microliters/minute [P < 0.05]). There was a significant correlation between evaporative rate and gland drop out (r = 0.522). Patients with meibomian gland drop out, and especially those with low tear production by Schirmer test, have an increased risk of dry eye developing through increased evaporation.
              Article 0 comments Cited 60 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Journal ID (nlm-ta): Mol Vis
                Journal ID (publisher-id): MV
                Title: Molecular Vision
                Publisher: Molecular Vision
                ISSN (Electronic): 1090-0535
                Publication date Collection: 2008
                Publication date (Electronic): 09 July 2008
                Volume: 14
                Pages: 1263-1271
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Johnson & Johnson Department of Ocular Surface and Visual Optics, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
                [2 ]Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
                Author notes
                Correspondence to: Associate Professor Dr Murat Dogru, Johnson & Johnson Department of Ocular Surface and Visual Optics, Keio University School of Medicine Shinanomachi 35, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 160-8582, Japan; Phone: 81-3-5363-3820; FAX: 81-3-3358-5961; email: muratodooru@ 123456yahoo.com
                Article
                Publisher ID: 149 Publisher ID: 2008MOLVIS0145
                PMC ID: 2447817
                PubMed ID: 18618006
                SO-VID: d4767765-f57c-4ee9-8d7b-f56241044c6a
                Copyright statement: Copyright @ 2008
                License:

                This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                Date received : 12 May 2008
                Date accepted : 22 June 2008
                Categories
                Subject: Research Article
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                ScienceOpen disciplines: Vision sciences
                Data availability:
                ScienceOpen disciplines: Vision sciences

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