Concentration of angiotensin-converting enzyme in tears of patients with sarcoidosis.

The concentration of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) was studied in 39 patients with sarcoidosis, 6 of whom had active uveitis, 7 patients with non-sarcoid uveitis and 36 healthy controls. ACE concentration in tears was also compared with total protein concentration in tears in order to exclude the effect of varying dilution of tears at sampling. Mean tear ACE concentration and ACE/protein ratio were higher in patients with sarcoidosis than in controls. There were no significant differences in tear ACE concentration or ACE/protein ratio between sarcoidosis patients with uveitis and those with no eye involvement. Tear ACE concentration and ACE/protein ratio did not correlate significantly with serum ACE concentration. It is concluded that the mean concentration of tear ACE and ACE/protein ratio are elevated in sarcoidosis, but that this elevation is independent of any eye involvement.