Long-term Observation of Tear Proteomic Profiles and Ocular Surface in Trabeculectomy Patients Before and After Surgery

Approximately 70 million people world-wide are affected with glaucoma, of whom 6.7 million have bilateral blindness.5 Elevated intro-ocular pressure is the major modifiable risk factor in glaucoma, and reducing intraocular pressure to a consistently low level can delay disease progression and therefore, blindness.6 Topical intraocular pressure -lowering medication remains the first-line treatment for glaucoma, with surgical intervention playing a secondary role in cases suboptimally controlled with medication alone.

In this study, we plan to assess the change in tear proteins in trabeculectomy patients before and after operations. It is hoped that this study could help us gain more understanding of the possible mechanism accounting for the development of dry eye disease in glaucoma patients, which could help us develop better screening modalities and therapeutic agents for glaucoma patients at risk to prevent the development of dry eye disease.