Lacrimal Gland Involvement in Blepharophimosis-Ptosis-Epicanthus Inversus Syndrome

Abstract

Purpose: To describe the involvement of the lacrimal gland (LG) in blepharophimosis-ptosis-epicanthus inversus syndrome (BPES).

Design: Observational, cross-sectional study.

Participants: Twenty-one patients with BPES (10 female, 11 male) aged on average 15 years (range, 2-39 years), from 3 Brazilian medical centers and 1 Portuguese medical center.

Methods: Patients had their ocular surface evaluated with slit-lamp biomicroscopy, and tear production quantified with the Schirmer test I. The LG volumes were measured on computed tomography (CT) scans in the BPES sample and in a group of age-matched subjects imaged for nonorbital diseases. Sixteen patients were screened for mutations in the FOXL2 gene.

Main outcome measures: Lacrimal meniscus height, Schirmer test I, presence of superficial punctate keratopathy (SPK), LG volume, and molecular analysis of the FOXL2 gene.

Results: Absence of LG was detected bilaterally in 9 patients (42.8%) and unilaterally in 2 patients (9.5%). When considering only patients with measurable LG, the median volume was 0.22 cm³ in the right eye (range, 0.06-0.36 cm³) and 0.24 cm³ in the left eye (range, 0.08-0.34 cm³). These values were significantly lower than those for the age-matched controls (median = 0.54 right eye and 0.53 left eye; P < 0.05). There was a significant association between deficiency of tear production and LG volume reduction and agenesis. Molecular analysis of the FOXL2 gene revealed the presence of 8 distinct mutations, 4 of them novel ones. A significant reduction of LG size or agenesis was associated with mutations affecting protein size (due to underlying changes in the stop codon location) or the DNA-binding forkhead domain (Fisher exact test, P = 0.021). In 3 probands, the underlying genetic defect was not found.

Conclusions: This is the first study reporting LG volumes in BPES, describing a significant number of patients with LG agenesis. The association between alacrima and BPES is not incidental, and a thorough evaluation of tear production is recommended especially if ptosis surgery is planned.