Exploring Signs and Symptoms Associated with Meibomian Gland Dysfunction for Use as Clinical Trial Endpoints

Dry eye disease is attributed to impaired tear production and/or evaporative dry eye. Evaporative dry eye is frequently associated with meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). The objective of this study was to identify clinical study endpoints related to MGD. This 22-day, noninterventional, case-control clinical study involved three cohorts with increasing MGD severity: no MGD, mild/moderate MGD, and severe MGD. Symptoms were assessed with an ocular symptom questionnaire grading blurred vision, eye burning, eye dryness, eye pain, light sensitivity, eye itching, eye foreign body sensation, and overall ocular discomfort. Sign assessments included the maximum meibum quality score (MMQS), tear breakup time, Schirmer tear tests, biomicroscopy, and corneal staining. Signs and symptoms were compared between cohorts and study visits. Seventy-five study participants were assigned to the cohorts (25 per cohort). MMQS scores increased with increasing MGD severity, reflecting the selection criteria for the cohorts. Between-visit scores showed a weighted kappa statistic of 0.72 indicating substantial agreement. Mean scores of all assessed symptoms increased with increasing MGD severity. Scores for symptoms showed moderate (κ = 0.41-0.60) to substantial (κ = 0.61-0.80) agreement between visits. Overall ocular discomfort demonstrated the strongest correlation with the MMQS. The MMQS was a reproducible sign of MGD showing good agreement with ocular symptoms. Overall ocular discomfort was well correlated with typical dry eye symptoms and could potentially be used as a single measure of MGD symptoms. The findings from this observational study may inform endpoints for future clinical trials. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01979887.