Abstract of the 68th Meeting (Spring Meeting) 6–9 March 1990, Heidelberg

Analysis of the antibody repertoire in tears of dry-eye patients.

<i>Purpose:</i> It has recently been suggested that dry-eye disease has an underlying autoimmune mechanism. This hypothesis is further supported by the successful treatment of the disease with immunomodulatory drugs such as cyclosporin A. Although it is known that tears contain antibodies, very little is known about the antibody repertoires in tears. It was the aim of this study to analyze the IgA antibody repertoire against ocular antigens in the tears of patients suffering from dry-eye disease and compare it to those of healthy volunteers. <i>Methods:</i> Two groups were examined: 20 healthy volunteers (controls) and 28 patients suffering from dry-eye disease. The …