Individual meibomian gland metrics may structurally change over short periods of time
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Key takeaways:
- Average meibomian gland morphological metrics showed no significant changes.
- Some individual gland metrics demonstrated significant changes.
Some individual meibomian gland metrics may structurally change over a period of hours or days, according to research published in Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics.
“Meibomian gland structure is typically used to indicate the severity and progress of meibomian gland dysfunction and also to inform the likelihood of treatment success,” Kasandra Swiderska, PhD, of Eurolens Research, The University of Manchester, U.K., and colleagues wrote. “While it is known that gland function is compromised when gland complete dropout occurs, further exploration is needed to understand what additional and meaningful information can be gleaned from more detailed meibomian gland structural metrics.”
In a longitudinal, prospective study of 15 adult participants (mean age, 21.9 years; 53% women) attending 11 study visits over a 5-week period, researchers assessed measurable changes in meibomian gland morphological characteristics. For diurnal changes, seven visits were conducted on a single day in 2-hour increments. For monthly changes, participants were seen at the same time of day every week for 3 consecutive weeks.
Meibography was performed with the LipiView II system (Johnson & Johnson Vision) at each visit.
Average meibomian gland morphological metrics had no significant changes during the course of a day or a month, but some individual gland metrics, including gland length ratio (P < .0001), area (P < .0001), width (P < .0001) and tortuosity (P < .0001), changed significantly both diurnally and monthly.
“This research raises many questions in need of further investigation,” Swiderska and colleagues wrote. “The meibomian glands do indeed demonstrate measurable variability over short periods of time, but we do not know whether or not they are diurnal. We also do not know whether the glands interact with each other. The data presented here demonstrated that normal meibomian gland morphology is dynamic and subject to measurable change over short time periods such as the course of a day.”
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