Topical administration of NAC is thought to be effective and well tolerated in patients with MGD.

No abstract

When used in conjunction with eyelid hygiene, topical administration of NAC appears to be as effective as a topical steroid-antibiotic combination, betamethasone-sulfacetamide sodium therapy in patients with MGD.

Purpose:The aim was to evaluate central corneal thickness in patients with meibomian gland dysfunction. Methods: The study group was made up of 40 eyes of 20 patients with meibomian gland dysfunction (mean age, 40.55 Ϯ 10.7 years). Forty eyes of 20 healthy individuals (mean age, 39.25 Ϯ 11.1 years) without any ophthalmic or systemic pathology were used as a control group. The central corneal thickness was measured with ultrasonic pachymetry. Results: The mean central corneal thickness was 541.45 Ϯ 24.68 mm in the study group and 544.30 Ϯ 22.16 mm in the control group. There was no statistically significant difference in the mean central corneal thickness measurements in the meibomian gland dysfunction group in comparison with the control group (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Central corneal thickness measurements do not differ in patients with meibomian gland dysfunction compared with healthy control subjects. Key words: blepharitis, central corneal thickness, cornea, corneal pachymetry, meibomian gland dysfunction Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), a major form of blepharitis, is an extremely common, chronic condition of the eyelids. Hom and colleagues 1 reported the prevalence of meibomian gland dysfunction to be 38.9 per cent in apparently normal patients presenting for routine visual examinations. It increases in prevalence to nearly 68 per cent in patients over 60 years of age.2 MGD is characterised by inflammatory changes at the lid margins and changes in the anatomy of orifices and the character of secretions of the meibomian glands.The importance of meibomian gland function has been emphasised because lipids secreted by these glands combine with the outer layers of the tear film to suppress evaporation of tear fluid and to form a hydrophobic barrier at the lid margin to prevent loss of tears. In MGD, a reduction in the quantity and changes in the composition of meibomian gland secretions result in instability and thinning of the tear film. As the aqueous component of tears evaporates, the tear osmolarity rises, and aqueous tear flow and volume decrease, initiating an inflammatory cycle.3-10 The compromised preocular tear film leads to dry eye, which also interferes with the ocular surface.

In the current study it was aimed to evaluate the findings of cornea in Dry Eye related Meibomian Gland Dysfunction through in vivo confocal microscopy. 30 patients of Dry Eye related Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (DEMGD) and 30 healty individuals were included. 46 eyes of 30 DEMGD patients (group 1) and 46 eyes of 30 healthy individuals (group 2) were formed as control group and images were captured from the centre of the cornea. 26 of the patients (%86,6) in Group 1 were male, and four of them (%13,4) were female and 25 of healthy individuals (% 83,3) were male and 5 of them(%16,7) were female. The ages of the patients in Group 1 were between 23-67 (51,58±13,4 on average). The ages of the healthy individuals in Group 2 were between 23-67 (51,45±10,4 on average). Tear film break-up time and Schirmer 1 values were significantly lower in the MGDDE group than the control group (p<0.001). There were statistically significant intergroup differences in basal epithelial cell density and area and stromal nerve thickness (p<0.05). Surface epithelium changes, anterior stromal hyperreflectivity and subepithelial nerve morphology changes were not observed in the control group. As a result, some of the effects on cornea tissue caused by Dry Eye related Meibomian Gland Dysfunction were able to be visualized with confocal microscopy at micro level.