Metabolites of Tear Fluid

Healthy Subjects

Tear, Metabolite

The pilot trial evaluates the use of modified Schirmer strips and is designed to evaluate inter-individual range of metabolites in tear film.

The variability of tear film metabolites should be investigated in a sample of ophthalmologists in preparation for a pilot study in patients eye diseases. The easy accessibility of the tear fluid and the lack of invasiveness of the study make it promising and sensible to determine the concentration of various tear film metabolites. Because attention has so far focused primarily on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of tear film proteins, many metabolites have so far only been shown to be contained in tears. However, before the suitability of the measured values as a predictive parameter of the ocular surface for pathologies can be examined and assessed, it is necessary to determine the scattering variables in a sample of healthy volunteers. Thus, reference areas are to be defined for later investigations in order to enable reliable case number planning thereafter. Repeated determinations at different times and on different days make it possible in particular to detect a time-dependent relationship in view of the dynamic variability of the tear film. The functional significance of certain metabolites can not yet be assessed in the establishment phase. However, the data may provide important information for the interpretation of a later, planned feasibility study with diseased patients or the influence of applied eye drops.

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