POTENTIAL ROLE OF DISRUPTED LACRIMAL ACINAR CELLS IN DRY EYE DURING PREGNANCY.

Abstract

Recently, dry eye disease has been linked with hormonal changes in several patient populations. For instance, there is a high incidence of dry eye disease that accompanies aging in postmenopausal women (Molina et al., 1986), and there appears to be an increased incidence of disease during pregnancy (unpublished data). Furthermore, increased addition infiltration of lymphocytes into the lacrimal glands has also been associated with aging (Murray et al., 1981; Damato et al., 1984). Serum levels of androgens have been shown to be important in maintenance of normal lacrimal gland function (Mircheff et al., 1996).