The Role of Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Dry Eye Disease

There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that oxidative stress may be involved in at least the propagation of cellular injury that leads to eye pathology in various conditions including conjunctivochalasis, dry eye disease, age-related macular degeneration, and UV light-induced and tobacco smoke-induced ocular surface epithelial damage. Oxidative stress is biologically relevant in vivo and intimately linked with an integrated series of cellular events. Interaction between these various components is not necessarily a cascade but might be a cycle of events, of which oxidative stress is a major component. Inhibition of oxidative stress therapeutically might act to “break the cycle” of cell death. The creation of numerous cell and animal models that selectively target the effects of oxidative stress and inflammation to the specifically affected eye region in these diseases has greatly advanced our understanding of the involvement of oxidative stress in eye disease.