[Tear lactoferrin content in normal Chinese adults and various ocular diseases]

The authors found the tear lactoferrin content in normal Chinese adults to be 1.46 +/- 0.32 mg/ml (mean +/- 1 SD), and the mean counting rate of its unsaturated binding power of iron 63,660 +/- 17,010/min/ml (mean +/- 1 SD), with very significant positive correlation between the two, irrespective of sex or eye distinction. Tear lactoferrin began to decrease after 40 years of age, and remarkably so after 70. The authors deemed the measurement of tear lactoferrin a reliable and sensitive marker for the diagnosis of keratoconjunctivitis sicca. In patients with bacterial corneal ulcer and acute catarrhal conjunctivitis, the lactoferrin content in tears was normal, in chronic catarrhal conjunctivitis, the unsaturated binding power of iron was decreased.