title: Decreased tear lactoferrin concentration in patients with chronic hepatitis C.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Decreased tear volume in patients with chronic hepatitis C has been reported in the literature. Lactoferrin is abundantly present in human tears, the main source of which is the acini of the lacrimal glands. In this study tear lactoferrin levels were measured to investigate the dry eye condition of patients with chronic hepatitis C.
  
  
  METHODS
  Lactoferrin in tears/fluid was measured by a radial immunodiffusion assay in 42 patients with chronic hepatitis C. The rate of lacrimal secretion was determined by the cotton thread test. Rose bengal staining of the ocular surface was also performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Only three patients out of 42 complained of dry eye sensation and, in 31 patients, six showed positive results on the rose bengal staining test of the ocular surface. The lactoferrin concentration of tear fluid in the chronic hepatitis C group (1.42 (SD 0.56) mg/ml) was significantly lower than in the control group (1.90 (0.62) mg/ml; p <0.00048). The cotton thread test results in the chronic hepatitis C group (12.9 (5. 5) mm) were significantly lower than in the control group (17.9 (5. 3) mm; p<0.00048). Also, in the chronic hepatitis C group, tear lactoferrin concentration correlated with the results of the cotton thread test (r = 0.35, p<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Chronic hepatitis C patients showed both decreased tear volume, and decreased tear lactoferrin concentration. These findings suggest that there may be dysfunction of the lacrimal glands in patients with chronic hepatitis C, which may account for the mild dry eye.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Akita University School of Medicine, Akita City, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsunaga
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sakuragi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Komatsu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015352:Dry Eye Syndromes / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007781:Lactoferrin / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013666:Tears / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D007781:Lactoferrin