Dry eye(DE)is a multifactorial ocular surface disorder arising from numerous pathologies. The pathogenesis of DE includes immune inflammation, oxidative stress, changes in tear film composition, corneal nerve abnormalities, and meibomian gland dysfunction. Among them, the immune inflammatory response is the most crucial in the pathogenesis of DE, which is regulated by both innate and acquired immune responses on the ocular surface. Multiple environmental stresses trigger the ocular surface innate immune response leading to corneal epithelial cell damage and inflammation and activate acquired immunity to participate in the ocular surface immune inflammatory response. Currently, multiple immune cells and inflammatory factors have been shown to be involved in the occurrence and development of DE. This article reviewed the immune progress and focused on the initiation and maintenance of acquired immunity in DE. Through the analysis of the latest viewpoints and research hot spots, we systematically introduced the immunomodulating mechanism underlying the mechanisms of the pathogenesis of DE and provided references for the prevention and treatment of DE.

Objective:To investigate the preventive and therapeutic effects of compound wild chrysanthemum eye pad on blue light-induced alteration of meibomian gland function in mice and its mechanism.Methods:Sixty-four 15-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were divided into two groups of 32 mice each according to random numbers for the prevention test and the treatment test.The respective 32 mice in the prevention and treatment experiments were randomly divided into normal group, blue light group, solvent group and eye pad group according to random numbers, with eight mice in each group, respectively.In the prevention experiments, mice in each group were exposed to blue light at a wavelength of 460 nm and a light intensity of 2 000 lx for 6 hours per day for 15 consecutive days to establish a mouse model of meibomian gland function changes except for the normal group.The solvent group and the eye pad group were treated with the corresponding eye pad before and after the blue light exposure for 25 minutes daily for the 15 consecutive days.The blue light group was treated with blue light exposure only for 15 days, and the mice were photographed at the edge of the meibomian gland on day 15 to observe the function of the meibomian gland except for the normal group.In the treatment test, all groups of mice except the normal group were induced the altered function of the mouse meibomian gland by the above method.The solvent and eye pad groups were treated with corresponding eye pads for 25 minutes in the morning and afternoon of each day for 15 consecutive days after blue light exposure.The blue light group was kept in a standard environment for 15 days and the changes in meibomian gland function of mice were detected by meibomian gland photographs on day 15.Photography of the eyelid margin in vitro, oil red O staining, and hematoxylin-eosin staining were performed to observe the histologic changes in the meibomian glands of mice after the preventive and experimental treatment.The relative expression of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) mRNA in mouse meibomian gland tissues was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR.The expression of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and phosphorylation of NF-κB (p-NF-κB) proteins in mice meibomian gland tissues was detected by Western blot to assess the degree of amelioration of blue light-induced inflammation in mouse meibomian glands by the compound wild chrysanthemum eye pad.This study was conducted in accordance with the Statement of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology on the Use of Animals in Ophthalmology and Vision Research, and was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Xiamen University (No.XMULAC20220258). Results:Compared with the normal group, a gradually increased number of blocked meibomian gland openings, and a gradually decreased remaining area of lower meibomian gland, were observed in the mice after 15 days of blue light group, and all the differences were statistically different (all at P<0.05). In the prevention test, the number of obstructed opening in the eye pad group was 1.833±0.753, which was significantly less than 3.667±1.033 in the solvent group ( P<0.05). The relative remaining area of the lower lid meibomian gland in the eye pad group was 0.718±0.091, which was significantly greater than 0.624±0.130 in the solvent group ( P<0.05). Hematoxylin-eosin staining showed inflammatory cell infiltration in mouse meibomian gland in the blue light and solvent groups.There was no inflammatory cell infiltration in eye pad group, and the morphology of the acini was similar to that of the normal group.Oil red O staining showed that there was no significant lipid deposition in the groups.The relative expressions of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, and IFN-γ mRNA were significantly lower, and the relative expressions of NF-κB and p-NF-κB proteins were significantly lower in the eye pad group than in the solvent group, showing statistically significant differences (all at P<0.05). In the treatment test, the number of obstructed openings in the eye pad group and solvent group was 4.333±1.211 and 4.833±1.722, respectively, and the relative remaining area of the lower meibomian gland was 0.572±0.151 and 0.588±0.154, respectively, showing no statistically significant differences (both at P>0.05). Hematoxylin-eosin staining showed inflammatory cell infiltration in mouse meibomian glands in the blue light and solvent groups, with a similar morphology of acini as in the normal group.There was no inflammatory cell infiltration in eye pad group.Oil red O staining showed that there was no significant lipid deposition in the groups.The relative expressions of IL-1β, IL-6, and IFN-γ mRNA were significantly lower and the relative expressions of NF-κB and p-NF-κB proteins were significantly lower in the eye pad group than in the solvent group (all at P<0.05). Conclusions:Compound wild chrysanthemum eye pad may have preventive and therapeutic effects on blue light-induced changes in meibomian gland function by reducing the inflammatory response of meibomian gland tissue through the inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway.

Objective:To investigate the expressions of MUC1, MUC4, MUC5AC and MUC16 in patients with first diagnosis of dry eye and their correlation with dry eye symptoms and signs.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted.Sixty-nine dry eye patients (69 eyes) as dry eye group and 40 normal volunteers (40 eyes) as normal control group were recruited in Xiamen Eye Center of Xiamen University, Beijing Tongren Hospital, West China Hospital of Sichuan University and Shanghai Puotuo District Center Hospital from December 2016 to May 2018.Symptoms were evaluated by Chinese dry eye questionnaire, Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) and Dry Eye-Related Quality-of-Life Score Questionnaire (DEQS). Signs were assessed by tear film breakup time (TBUT), keratoconjunctival fluorescein sodium staining, and Schirmer I test.Conjunctival cells were collected by conjunctival impression cytology.The expression levels of MUC1, MUC4, MUC5AC and MUC16 mRNA in the two groups were determined by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR.The correlation between the mRNA levels of conjunctival mucins and dry eye symptoms and signs were analyzed by Spearman correlation analysis.This study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki.The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committees of Xiamen Eye Center of Xiamen University (No.2017003), Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University (No.TREC2016-29), West China Hospital of Sichuan University (No.2016310) and Shanghai Puotuo District Center Hospital (No.PTEC-A-2016-18-1). Written informed consent was obtained from each subject before any medical examination.Results:The expression levels of MUC1 and MUC16 mRNA in dry eye patients were 3.277(0.568, 5.790) and 1.815(1.048, 3.694), which were higher than 1.055(0.550, 2.010) and 1.024(0.541, 1.965) in normal control group (Z=819.00, P=0.008; Z=861.00, P=0.002). According to OSDI scores, MUC1 was mainly increased to 3.277(1.161, 6.226) in mild to moderate (12-32 points) dry eye patients (Z=9.04, P=0.029), and MUC16 was mainly increased to 1.968(1.074, 3.726) in severe (>32 points) dry eye patients (Z=12.24, P=0.007). MUC1 expression was positively correlated with TBUT, and was negatively correlated with corneal staining scoring and keratoconjunctival staining scoring ( r s=0.270, P=0.025; r s=-0.331, P=0.006; r s=-0.325, P=0.007). MUC16 expression was positively correlated with TBUT, and was negatively correlated with blurred vision scoring, symptom exacerbation scoring during reading, impact scoring of driving at night, impact scoring of computer and impact scoring of TV use ( r s=0.249, P=0.039; r s=-0.359, P=0.047; r s=-0.370, P=0.034; r s=-0.558, P=0.016; r s=-0.498, P=0.006; rs=-0.515, P=0.002). Conclusions:The gene expressions of MUC1 and MUC16 are higher in conjunctiva of dry eye patients.MUC1 mRNA expression is related to patients' signs.MUC16 mRNA expression is related to the quality of life of patients.

Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) is a chronic, diffuse meibomian gland disorder, which has complex pathogenesis and high prevalence.It has become one of the common ocular surface diseases in clinics, and its treatment has been the clinical research focus and a challenge over the years.The traditional treatments consist of lifestyle improvement, physical therapy, medical treatments and surgery, in which drug plays an important role.According to the etiology and pathogenesis of MGD, the applied drugs can be classified into three categories.The first category is to improve the quality of tears and the stability of tear film, including artificial tear and ocular surface lubricants, secretagogues (promoting the secretion of lipids, aqueous solution and mucin), androgens, etc.The second category is to improve the ocular surface microenvironment, including local and systemic antibiotics, glucocorticoid eyedrops, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, immunosuppressants, anti-mites drugs, etc.The third category is nutritional supplements and neuroprotectants, including vitamin D3, omega-3 fatty acids, autologous serum and so on.This review focused on widely-used and current emerging treatment options, aiming to provide references for clinical treatments and further study on MGD.

Objective:To analyze the clinical manifestations and signs of the first diagnosed dry eye patients, and to explore the concordance between the Chinese dry eye diagnostic criteria and the Asian dry eye diagnostic criteria.Methods:A cross-sectional multicenter study was conducted.One hundred and forty-one eyes of 141 patients who were diagnosed as dry eye for the first time were included in Xiamen Eye Center of Xiamen University, Beijing Tongren Hospital, West China Hospital of Sichuan University and Shanghai Putuo District Center Hospital from December 2016 to May 2018.All patients completed the Chinese Dry Eye Questionnaire, Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) and Dry Eye-Related Quality-of-life Score Questionnaire (DEQS) to evaluate the symptoms of dry eye.Tear film breakup time (BUT), keratoconjunctival fluorescein staining, meibomian gland morphology and function examination, and Schirmer Ⅰ test were performed to evaluate dry eye signs and the association between dry eye symptoms and signs.The eyes were divided into corneal staining positive and negative group according to the presence or absence of corneal fluorescein staining, and the dry eye symptoms of the two groups were assessed by the three questionnaires.The eyes were divided into tear-deficient dry eye, evaporative dry eye, mixed dry eye and abnormal tear dynamics dry eye to compare the difference of dry eye signs among the groups.This study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki.The study protocol complied with Chinese regulations and rules on clinical trial research and was approved by Ethics Committees of Xiamen Eye Center of Xiamen University (No.2017003), Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University (No.TREC2016-29), West China Hospital of Sichuan University (No.2016310) and Shanghai Putuo District Center Hospital (No.PTEC-A-2016-18-1). Written informed consent was obtained from patients before entering the cohort.Results:The total score of Chinese Dry Eye Questionnaire, OSDI questionnaire and DEQS questionnaire was 12.00(7.00, 16.00), 25.00(17.50, 36.93) and 32.02(15.77, 52.34), respectively.It was found that 130 eyes (92.2%) had dryness, and 109 eyes (77.3%) had ocular fatigue and 108 eyes (76.6%) had foreign body sensation.Dryness, foreign body sensation, photophobia and poor vision were weakly positively correlated with corneal staining ( r=0.177、0.297、0.172, all at P<0.05). Pain, photophobia and poor vision were negatively correlated with tear secretion ( r=-0.178, -0.197, -0.174; all at P<0.05). It was found that 43.3% of dry eye patients had used visual display terminals.Among the 141 eyes, 75 eyes (53.2%) were with over evaporation dry eye, 43 eyes (30.5%) with mixed dry eye, 18 eyes (12.8%) with aqueous-deficient dry eye and 3 eyes (2.1%) with abnormal tear dynamics dry eyes. Conclusions:Initial diagnosis of dry eye patients is mainly mild to moderate.Dry eye signs and symptoms are correlated.Over evaporation dry eye is the most common type of dry eye.The concordance between the Chinese dry eye diagnostic criteria and the Asian Dry Eye Society diagnostic criteria reaches 97.2%.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a common cause of blindness, which is still short of effective therapies.As a complex disease affected by genetical, metabolic and nutritional factors, a key factor to promote the occurrence and development of AMD is chronic inflammation.In recent years, the etiological role of abnormal complement activation in AMD has attracted lots of attention.Genetic analysis has identified a number of complement-related genes, especially CFH, affecting the susceptibility of AMD.Moreover, in vitro and in vivo studies have found that abnormal ocular and systemic complement activations are closely related to the pathological alterations of AMD, including Bruch membrane changes, drusen formation, chronic retinal inflammation and choroidal neovascularization.The dysregulation of complement activation cascades causes the damage of retinal cells, which eventually leads to the pathological changes of AMD.Accordingly, complement system has become a target for new anti-AMD therapy development.This review summarized the pathological characteristics of AMD, complement-related risk genes for AMD, and the role of abnormal complement activation in promoting the progression of AMD, so as to find new targets for AMD treatment.

An expert consensus about the clinical diagnosis and treatment of dry eye was documented in 2013 by a corneal expert group of Chinese Ophthalmological Society.However, due to the rapid development of diagnostic and therapeutic devices of dry eye, researoh on dry eye has made significont progress in China since then.Consequently, the existing expert consensus cannot meet the needs of clinical practice.It is therefore urgent to develop a series of standardized diagnosis and treatment protocols, and publish a new consensus of experts and an operating guideline.At the same time, basic, clinical, and translational research on dry eye should be promoted to provide better services to the patients with dry eyes.On January 12, 2019 many experts in the field of dry eye in China held a panel discussion of dry eye study in Guangzhou to analyze the current development status and trends in the field of dry eye in China and abroad.In that meeting, opinions and recommendations were put forward based on a new understanding of the definition of dry eye, new concepts of dysfunctional dry eye, advances its diagnosis and classification, refinement and standardization of dry eye treatment, and the future development of dry eye research.

Asia Dry Eye Society (ADES) is the leading dry eye academic organization in Asia.Based on Dry Eye Work Shop (DEWS)Ⅰin 2007 and DEWSⅡin 2017 released by Tear Film and Ocular Surface Association (TFOS), ADES developed a systematic study on the definition, diagnosis, classification and managing strategy of dry eye in Asia during past seven years.A new classification consensus report of Asia dry eye was finally proposed in 2020, which is helpful for ophthalmologists and patients to understand the pathogenesis of dry eye and make the identification and precision therapy of dry eye clearer and more feasible. New Perspectives on Dry Eye Definition and Diagnosis: A Consensus Report by the Asia Dry Eye Society on The Ocular Surface in 2017, and A New Perspective on Dry Eye Classification: Proposal by the Asia Dry Eye Society on Eye and Contact Lens in 2020 are guidelines for dry eye management in Asia.These two consensuses were interpreted in this paper, including new concepts and methods of the definition, diagnosis, classification and treatment of dry eye.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of 0.3％ sodium hyaluronate ophthalmic solution in mild-to-moderate dry eye patients.Metbods A prospective,multicenter,and self-controlled clinical trial was performed on 200 patients who were diagnosed as mild-to-moderate dry eye from January 2015 to June 2017 in Eye Institute of Xiamen University,Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University,Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center,Xiangya Hospital Central South University,Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University,and Beijing Tongren Hospital,Capital Medical University.The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committees of Eye Institute of Xiamen University,written informed consent was obtained from each patient prior to any medical examination.All patients were treated with 0.3％ sodium hyaluronate ophthalmic solution 6 times per day (one drop each time) for 28 days.Corneal fluorescein sodium staining,tear film break-up time (BUT),Schirmer Ⅰ test (S Ⅰ t),degree of conjunctival hyperemia,eyelid margin,meibomian gland secretion,secretory capacity of meibomian gland and subjective symptoms were assessed at baseline,on the 14th day and 28th day after treatment.Bulbar impression cytology was evaluated at baseline and on the 28th day after treatment.Irritation of 0.3％ sodium hyaluronate ophthalmic solution was estimated on the 14th day and 28th day after treatment.Results The total score of subjective symptoms,BUT,S Ⅰ t,degree of conjunctival hyperemia were significantly different among different treatment time points (F =108.969,27.598,16.838,36.750;all at P＜0.01).Compared with before treatment,the total score of subjective symptoms was significantly decreased,the degree of conjunctival hyperemia and the total corneal fluorescein sodium staining point number were significant decreased on the 14th day and 28th day after treatment.The total score of subjective symptoms,degree of conjunctival hyperemia and total corneal fluorescein sodium staining point number on the 28th day after treatment were significant lower than those on the 14th day after treatment.Compared with before treatment,the BUT was significantly longer and the S Ⅰ t scores were significantly increased on the 14th day and 28th day after treatment.The BUT on the 28th day after treatment was significantly longer than that on the 14th day after treatment;no significant difference in S Ⅰ t was observed between the 28th day and the 14th day after treatment.The scores of palpebral margin change,meibomian gland secretory ability and secretion characteristics were not significantly different among different treatment time points(H=0.255,2.356,0.294;all at P＞0.05).The impression cytology grade on the 28th day after treatment was 1.08±0.74,which was significantly lower than 1.53±0.76 before treatment (t =5.979,P＜0.01).The number of goblet cells on the 28th day after treatment was significantly higher than that before treatment (U =1 806.500,P＜ 0.01).On the 14th day after treatment,70％ of the patients indicated that the drug was non-irritating,and no patient had intolerable irritation affecting daily lives.All patients had good tolerance to this drug.Conclusions The use of 0.3％ sodium hyaluronate eye drops can improve the symptoms and signs of mild to moderate dry eye,which can be widely used for mild-to-moderate dry eye patients in clinic.

OBJECTIVE: To assess clinical value of fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) for differentiation of malignant from benign focal thyroid incidentaloma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study included 99 patients with focal thyroid incidentaloma of 5216 non-thyroid cancer patients that had undergone PET/CT. PET/CT semi-quantitative parameters, volume-based functional parameters, metabolic tumor volume (MTV), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) of thyroid incidentaloma were assessed. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was conducted and areas under the curve (AUC) were compared by Hanley and McNeil test to evaluate usefulness of maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), MTV and TLG, as markers for differentiating malignant from benign thyroid incidentalomas. RESULTS: Of 99 thyroid incidentalomas, 64 (64.6%) were malignant and 35 (35.4%) were benign. Malignant thyroid incidentalomas were larger (1.8 cm vs. 1.3 cm, p = 0.006), and had higher SUVmax (11.3 vs. 4.8, p < 0.001), MTV (all p < 0.001) and TLG (all p < 0.001) than benign. TLG 4.0 had the highest performance for differentiation of malignant from benign thyroid incidentaloma in all semi-quantitative parameters with AUC 0.895 by ROC curve analysis. AUC (TLG 4.0) was significantly larger than AUC (SUVmean), AUC (MTV 2.5), AUC (MTV 3.0), AUC (MTV 3.5), AUC (TLG 2.5), and AUC (TLG 3.0), respectively (all, p < 0.05). There was no statistical difference between AUC (TLG 4.0) and AUC (SUVmax) (p > 0.05). A threshold TLG 4.0 of 2.475 had 81.3% sensitivity and 94.3% specificity for identifying malignant thyroid incidentalomas. CONCLUSION: Volume-based PET/CT parameters could potentially have clinical value in differential diagnosis of thyroid incidentaloma along with SUVmax.
Area Under Curve ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Electrons ; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18* ; Glycolysis ; Humans ; Positron-Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography* ; Retrospective Studies ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Tumor Burden