건성안 환자의 눈물에서 인터페론유도 T 세포 화학주성인자의 농도와 눈물표면인자와의 상관관계

I-TAC Concentration in Tears of Dry Eye Patients and Its Correlation with Tear Surface Parameters

Purpose: This study was performed to evaluate the level of I-TAC in tears of patients with dry eye syndrome and its correlation with the tear surface parameters. Methods: I-TAC levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in tear samples collected from 33 dry eye patients (16 patients with Sj&ouml;gren syndrome and 17 patients with non-Sj&ouml;gren syndrome) and 15 control subjects. The correlations between I-TAC levels and tear surface parameters including tear film break-up time (BUT), basal tear secretion, tear clearance rate (TCR), corneal sensation, keratoepitheliopathy and conjunctival goblet cell density were analyzed. Results: The mean levels of I-TAC were 717±377 pg/ml in patients with dry eye and 444±119 pg/ml in control subjects (P=0.003). The mean levels in Sj&ouml;gren syndrome patients (1261±324 pg/ml) were significantly higher than those of non-Sj&ouml;gren syndrome patients (614±131 pg/ml, P=0.003). I-TAC levels correlated significantly with basal tear secretion (P=0.006), TCR (P=0.007), keratoepitheliopathy (P=0.022) and goblet cell density (P<0.001), but did not correlate with BUT (P=0.110) and corneal sensation (P=0.090). Conclusions: The level of I-TAC is elevated in tears of patients with dry eye syndrome including Sj&ouml;gren syndrome. The level correlates with disease severity and tear surface parameters. J Korean Ophthalmol Soc 2008;49(10):1565-1571