Eyelid Tattooing Induces Meibomian Gland Loss and Tear Film Instability

Purpose. Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) can lead to abnormalities in the composition and function of tear film, resulting in dry eye. Eyelid hygiene is a key to management of MGD. We tested a novel eyelid shampoo (Eye Shampoo Long, ESL) for its ability to maintain lid hygiene. This shampoo is nonirritating and can potentially lengthen eyelashes. This study was aimed to evaluate the efficacy of ESL in the treatment of MGD and its effects on eyelash length. Methods. Ten patients with MGD and 10 healthy subjects without MGD applied ESL twice daily for 8 weeks. Patients were examined for lid margin and dry eye before and after the trial. Subjective symptoms were evaluated. Eyelash length was measured at baseline and at the end of the trial. Results. In the MGD group, significant improvements were observed in subjective symptoms obstruction of the meibomian orifice, secretion of meibum, eyelashes contamination, eyelid margin foam, and SPK. Eyelash length became significantly longer. Conclusions. Maintaining eyelid hygiene using ESL improved the eyelid margins and symptoms of dry eye in MGD patients and increased eyelash length. These findings are promising and warrant confirmation in a larger randomized controlled study.

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Diagnostic Test Efficacy of Meibomian Gland Morphology and Function

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-019-54013-4 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jiaxin Xiao ◽

Muhammed Yasin Adil ◽

Jonatan Olafsson ◽

Xiangjun Chen ◽

Øygunn A. Utheim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dry Eye ◽

Operating Characteristic ◽

Characteristic Curve ◽

Tear Film ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Meibomian Gland ◽

Clinical Parameters ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

And Function ◽

Breakup Time

AbstractMeibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) is the leading cause of dry eye and proposed treatments are based on disease severity. Our purpose was to establish reliable morphologic measurements of meibomian glands for evaluating MGD severity. This retrospective, cross-sectional study included 100 MGD patients and 20 controls. The patients were classified into dry eye severity level (DESL) 1–4 based on symptoms and clinical parameters including tear-film breakup time, ocular staining and Schirmer I. The gland loss, length, thickness, density and distortion were analyzed. We compared the morphology between patients and controls; examined their correlations to meibum expressibility, quality, and DESL. Relative to controls, the gland thickness, density and distortion were elevated in patients (p < 0.001 for all tests). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.98 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.96–1.0) for gland loss, and 0.96 (CI 0.91–1.0) for gland distortion, with a cutoff value of six distorted glands yielding a sensitivity of 93% and specificity of 97% for MGD diagnosis. The gland distortion was negatively correlated to the meibum expressibility (r = −0.53; p < 0.001) and DESL (r = −0.22, p = 0.018). In conclusion, evaluation of meibomian gland loss and distortion are valuable complementary clinical parameters to assess MGD status.

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