TY - JOUR
T1 - The sparkle of the eye
T2 - The impact of ocular surface wetness on corneal light reflection
AU - Goto, Eiki
AU - Dogru, Murat
AU - Sato, Enrique Adan
AU - Matsumoto, Yukihiro
AU - Takano, Yoji
AU - Tsubota, Kazuo
N1 - Funding Information:
Publication of this article was supported by grant # 18070501 from The Japanese Ministry of Health , Labour and Welfare (Tokyo, Japan). The authors indicate no financial disclosures or conflicts of interest. Involved in design of the study (E.G., E.S.); conduct of the study (M.D., K.T.); collection and analysis of the data (E.G., E.S., Y.M., Y.T.); and approval of the manuscript (M.D., K.T.). This research followed the Tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki and informed consent was obtained from all the subjects after explanation of the nature and possible consequences of the study. Institutional Review Board committee approval was obtained at Tsurumi University. This clinical trial was registered to Japan Pharmaceutical Information Center (Tokyo, Japan, Japic CTI-060313).
PY - 2011/4
Y1 - 2011/4
N2 - Purpose: To measure the sparkle of the human eye evaluated by the intensity of corneal light reflection in normal subjects and dry eye patients to investigate whether ocular surface wetness has an impact on the sparkle of the eye. Design Prospective case-control study. Methods We examined a consecutive series of eight dry eye patients with Sjgren syndrome (SS, 15 eyes), as well as eight normal subjects (16 eyes). The specular corneal surface light reflection was quantitatively measured with an ophthalmic slit-lamp microscope and image capturing system under fixed conditions of light source, incident angle, and detector sensitivity. The intensity of images from subjects' corneal light reflection was quantified with image analysis software along with the measurement of grade of self-reported brilliancy of the eye, corneal fluorescein staining score, tear film break-up time, and Schirmer test value. The intensity of corneal light reflection was also compared before and after dry eye treatment. Results The mean intensity of corneal light reflection was significantly lower in dry eye patients (125.0 ± 40.1) than normal subjects (167.6 ± 36.6, P = .004). Grade of self-reported brilliancy of the eye, corneal fluorescein staining scores, tear film break-up time, and Schirmer test values showed good correlation to the intensity of corneal light reflection. After punctal plug treatment, the intensity of corneal light reflection significantly increased from 125.0 ± 40.1 to 167.2 ± 45.0 (P < .0001). Conclusions The intensity of corneal light reflection representing the sparkle of the eye was significantly more intense in normal subjects compared to dry eye patients, and was increased after punctal plug treatment. The intensity of corneal light reflection appeared to correlate well with tear film stability, volume, and ocular surface desiccation. We showed that tears contributed not only to ocular surface wetness but also to the extent of the light reflection from the eye.
AB - Purpose: To measure the sparkle of the human eye evaluated by the intensity of corneal light reflection in normal subjects and dry eye patients to investigate whether ocular surface wetness has an impact on the sparkle of the eye. Design Prospective case-control study. Methods We examined a consecutive series of eight dry eye patients with Sjgren syndrome (SS, 15 eyes), as well as eight normal subjects (16 eyes). The specular corneal surface light reflection was quantitatively measured with an ophthalmic slit-lamp microscope and image capturing system under fixed conditions of light source, incident angle, and detector sensitivity. The intensity of images from subjects' corneal light reflection was quantified with image analysis software along with the measurement of grade of self-reported brilliancy of the eye, corneal fluorescein staining score, tear film break-up time, and Schirmer test value. The intensity of corneal light reflection was also compared before and after dry eye treatment. Results The mean intensity of corneal light reflection was significantly lower in dry eye patients (125.0 ± 40.1) than normal subjects (167.6 ± 36.6, P = .004). Grade of self-reported brilliancy of the eye, corneal fluorescein staining scores, tear film break-up time, and Schirmer test values showed good correlation to the intensity of corneal light reflection. After punctal plug treatment, the intensity of corneal light reflection significantly increased from 125.0 ± 40.1 to 167.2 ± 45.0 (P < .0001). Conclusions The intensity of corneal light reflection representing the sparkle of the eye was significantly more intense in normal subjects compared to dry eye patients, and was increased after punctal plug treatment. The intensity of corneal light reflection appeared to correlate well with tear film stability, volume, and ocular surface desiccation. We showed that tears contributed not only to ocular surface wetness but also to the extent of the light reflection from the eye.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ajo.2010.09.027
DO - 10.1016/j.ajo.2010.09.027
M3 - Article
C2 - 21255764
AN - SCOPUS:79952991438
SN - 0002-9394
VL - 151
SP - 691-696.e1
JO - American Journal of Ophthalmology
JF - American Journal of Ophthalmology
IS - 4
ER -