Lysosomal enzymes in tear fluids from patients with ocular diseases.

Lysosomal enzyme activities in the tear fluids were determined in patients with ocular diseases. Acid phosphatase, beta-D-glucuronidase, N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase, and beta-D-mannosidase activities were almost the same among the tear fluids from patients with myopia, rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, simple diabetic retinopathy and pigmentary retinal dystrophy. In contrast, the activities were lower in the affected eyes of patients with herpetic keratitis and vernal conjunctivitis than in the fellow normal eyes. It is possible that the lysosomal enzyme activities in the tears may be closely related to the condition of the external eye disease.