Dry Eye and Clinical Disease of Tear Film – Diagnosis and Management

Abstract

Dry eye disease (DED) is one of the most frequent conditions in ophthalmology. The early diagnosis and the monitoring of therapy efficacy may help to prevent the severe complications and the impairment of visual function. This article presents the advances in the aetiology and diagnostic procedures of dry eye and clinical disease of tear film with a particular focus on SDS-agarose gel electrophoresis of tear proteins (Hyrys-Hydrasys SEBIA system). The test was used for the first time in the author’s laboratory and demonstrated an important clinical value in ocular and systemic diseases, as well as in high-risk groups for DED. The measurement of many target tear proteins (lactoferrin, lysozyme, albumin, immunoglobulin, proteins 20–60 kDa) in a single analysis using only 5 μl of tears with minimal cost and rapid results are strong arguments for including of SDS-agarose gel electrophoresis of tear proteins in routine test panel for DED.