Tears and sera of 53 patients of vernal conjunctivitis were examined for antibodies of the IgE type to a panel of 18 allergens. In 18 of the patients (34.0%) allergen-specific IgE was demonstrated in both tears and serum, in 3 (5.7%) in tears only, and in 4 (7.5%) in serum only. The antigen-specific reactions with tear fluid were found in patients with the highest total IgE levels, not only in tears but also in serum. This is evidence for a specific, local allergic reaction in these patients. Most positive reactions were to perennial allergens, particularly house dust mites, cat epithelium and Bermuda grass. This fact is in harmony with the lack of season-linked symptoms in most patients in this geographical area.

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In a group of chickens studied after lid suture in the first month post hatching an unusually high myopia was found (n = 8 eyes; average: -21.87 Diopters). The non-operated eyes of these chicks had the same optical properties (n = 4; +0.93 Diopters) as the eyes of the normal control chicks (n = 12; +0.81 Diopters). Although enlargement of the whole eye occurred, the main determinant was an axial elongation (operated eyes, 18.0 mm; nonoperated, 13.7 mm; normal controls, 14.7 mm). The axial change involves an enlargement of the posterior as well as the anterior segments of the eye. Despite several structural characteristics specific to chicks, their eyes can serve as a model for myopia research.

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Serum and tear levels of IgE were compared in patients with contact lens papillary conjunctivitis (CLPC), vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VC), healthy contact lens wearers (CLW), and healthy controls without lenses. The mean of serum IgE was elevated only in the VC group. Tear IgE levels were significantly higher for CLPC and VC than for CLW and healthy controls. Tear IgG levels were also increased in CLPC patients. With serum albumin (HSA) as a marker for leakage of proteins from the circulation to the tear fluid, the data indicated, that tear IgG was blood-borne whereas tear IgE was essentially a product of local synthesis. In one of the 10 CLPC patients, high titers of IgE type antibodies to housedust mites and cat epithelium were demonstrated in both serum and tears. We conclude that CLPC is usually an IgE mediated reaction to the lens material or to contaminations of allergenic material that sticks to the lenses.