Ocular allergy and mast cell stabilizers

The role of the mast cell in ocular allergy is becoming understood. As a result, the therapeutic effects of agents that stabilize the mast cell have been evaluated in the treatment of seasonal allergic conjunctivitis, vernal keratoconjunctivitis, atopic keratoconjunctivitis, and giant papillary conjunctivitis. At present, cromolyn sodium is the only available mast cell stabilizer of known effectiveness. Clinical and laboratory investigations of the effectiveness of cromolyn sodium in the treatment of ocular allergy are reviewed in the present article.