THE ROLE OF INFLAMMATORY MARKERS AND IMMUNOGLOBULINS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF KERATOCONUS

Abstract

The article presents a study on the inflammatory and immunological markers in patients with keratoconus. The study includes the clinical and laboratory analysis results of 28 patients with keratoconus (the main group) and 20 healthy individuals without keratoconus (the control group). The levels of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and immunoglobulins (IgA, IgM, IgG) in the tear samples of the main group were investigated and compared to those in the control group. The study reveals that the levels of cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α) and immunoglobulins (IgA, IgM, IgG) show significant changes in the tear samples of patients with keratoconus. According to the authors, these findings may contribute to a better understanding of the etiopathogenesis of keratoconus and assist in the appropriate selection of treatment strategies.