Decreased substance P concentrations in tears from patients with corneal hypesthesia.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether substance P concentrations in tears reflect corneal hypesthesia.


METHODS
Sixteen patients with unilateral corneal hypesthesia participated in this study. Unstimulated tears were collected from each eye of all subjects. Substance P concentrations in tears were measured by an enzyme immunoassay system.


RESULTS
Substance P concentrations in tears from the affected eye were lower than those in tears from the unaffected eye in all subjects. The mean concentration of substance P in tears from affected eyes was 197.7 +/- 69.5 pg/mL, markedly lower than those from unaffected eyes (333.2 +/- 74.6 pg/mL).


CONCLUSIONS
Substance P concentrations in tears, which are thought to reflect the neuropeptides levels in ocular tissues, can be used as an indicator of corneal denervation.
Yamada
M
M
Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. yamadam@med.keio.ac.jp
Ogata
M
M
Kawai
M
M
Mashima
Y
Y
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003315:Cornea / Q000294:innervation; D003316:Corneal Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*; D003714:Denervation; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005136:Eye Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006987:Hypesthesia / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013373:Substance P / Q000378:metabolism*; D013666:Tears / Q000378:metabolism*
D005136:Eye Proteins; C042434:tear proteins; D013373:Substance P