Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jul;42(7):2071-2078.
doi: 10.1007/s10792-021-02205-1. Epub 2022 Jan 3.

The effect of isotretinoin on meibomian glands in eyes: a pilot study

Ugur Gurlevik  1 , Funda Kemeriz  2 , Erdogan Yasar  3
Affiliations

The effect of isotretinoin on meibomian glands in eyes: a pilot study

Ugur Gurlevik et al. Int Ophthalmol. 2022 Jul.

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this pilot study was to quantify the meibography changes in patients administered with oral isotretinoin.

Methods: This prospective pilot study included 30 eyes of 30 patients who received oral isotretinoin treatment due to acne. Each patient underwent a general ophthalmological examination. After fluorescence staining of the ocular surface, the tear film break-up time (TFBUT) test, meibography and Schirmer test were carried out and noted. All of these procedures were applied before the treatment and repeated at 1, 3, and 6 months after the treatment.

Results: The percentage of upper meibomian gland (MG) loss at 3 and 6 months after the treatment was 22.2% (p = 0.001) and 23.6% (p = 0.001), respectively. The percentage of lower MG loss at 3 and 6 months after the treatment was 18.7% (p = 0.001) and 20.7% (p = 0.001), respectively. The corneal fluorescein staining score at 3 and 6 months after treatment was 0.57 (p = 0.001), and 0.47 (p = 0.012), respectively.

Conclusion: These findings show that oral isotretionin treatment may affect MG morphology. The study findings also suggest that isotretinoin may cause tear film instability with Meibomian gland dysfunction and may cause evaporative type of dryness.

Keywords: Acne vulgaris; Dry eye disease; Meibography; Meibomian gland dysfunction; İsotretinoin.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Strauss JS, Krowchuk DP, Leyden JJ et al (2007) Guidelines of care for acne vulgaris management. J Am Acad Dermatol 56(4):651–663 - DOI
    1. Nelson AM, Gilliland KL, Cong Z et al (2006) 13-cis Retinoic acid induces apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in human SEB-1 sebocytes. J Invest Dermatol 126:2178–2189 - DOI
    1. Fraunfelder FT, Fraunfelder FW, Edwards R (2001) Ocular side effects possibly associated with isotretinoin usage. Am J Ophthalmol 132:299–305 - DOI
    1. Nichols KK, Foulks GN, Bron AJ et al (2011) The international workshop on meibomian gland dysfunction: executive summary. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 52(4):1922–1929 - DOI
    1. Nelson JD, Shimazaki J, Benitez-del-Castillo JM et al (2011) The international workshop on meibomian gland dysfunction: report of the definition and classification subcommittee. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 52(4):1930–7 - DOI

LinkOut - more resources