WEDNESDAY, May 30 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) should be evaluated for the possible presence of a newly identified ocular condition called itchy-dry eye associated syndrome, according to study findings published in the May issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology.
Stefano Bonini, M.D., of the University Campus Bio-Medico in Rome, Italy, and colleagues studied 62 patients with an ultrasonographic diagnosis of polycystic ovary. A total of 20 patients (32.3 percent) -- including 15 of 16 PCOS patients (93.7 percent) -- underwent a complete eye examination with conjunctival impression cytologic sampling.
Compared to patients with polycystic ovary, the researchers found that those with PCOS were more likely to have increased conjunctival hyperemia, dryness, itching, mucous discharge and contact lens intolerance. They also found those with PCOS had a significant reduction of the tear film break-up time and a significant increase in goblet cell number and conjunctival MUC5AC messenger ribonucleic acid expression.
"Although the underlying mechanism of itchy-dry eye has not been clarified and hypoandrogenism is generally associated with dry eye, there is evidence that the ocular surface is influenced by sex hormones such as estrogens, progesterone and androgens," the authors write. "Specific receptors for these hormones have been found on the healthy human conjunctiva and in dry eye and are overexpressed in vernal keratoconjunctivitis."
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