Тезіографічне дослідження слізної рідини в офтальмологічній практиці.

Background. The modern current task of clinical ophthalmology is the search for simple screening and at the same time objective methods for examination and diagnosis of the ocular pathology. Crystallography, which is based on the properties of biological fluids before crystal formation, has a special place among such diagnostic tests. The important advantages of crystallography are as follows: simplicity, accessibility, possibility of dynamic observation of the pathological process and identification of changes during its development. Tear fluid has been proved to contain a number of components, which respond to external influences and diseases that have diagnostic value. At the same time, it is important to obtain generalized information about changes in the biochemical content of tear fluid. Therefore, in search of such an approach, we turned our attention to the thesiographic method of studying biological fluids of the human body, which is based on the fact that the addition of any biological substance to a crystal-forming material leads to changes in the normal crystallization of this material. This microcrystalline method is called thesiography. The purpose of the research was to clarify the possibility of the thesiographic study of tear fluid for its further use as a diagnostic screening method in ophthalmic practice. Materials and methods. We studied tear fluid samples from 27 healthy individuals, whose age ranged from 25 to 57 years. Tear fluid was collected on a filter strip, which, after tear fluid adsorbed on it, was desiccated and stored until the study. Tear fluid was extracted from the filter paper for the thesiographic study. As a basic crystal-forming material, a 2% solution of copper chloride in 96° ethyl alcohol was used, which was mixed with the obtained extract. Crystallization was carried out in a thermostat at a temperature of +60 °С. The obtained crystallographic patterns were photographed and studied visually and after computer magnification of their size, carrying out their morphological description. Results. Thesiographic studies allowed us to find out the crystal and morphological characteristics of tear fluid in healthy individuals. The crystallogram of the basal tear fluid of healthy individuals is represented as a crystallographic pattern, which is formed on the crystallographic field from the bottom to top from the centers of crystallization as primary facies consisting of long dendrites of the first order with their fern-like divergence to the top with further fern-like branching and the formation of cone-like dendrites with prospective upward growth. There are stellate facies in their separate areas. With a more detailed study of the integral crystal and morphological pattern of the basal tear fluid, it is possible to identify the division of the integral pattern into 4 morphological fields. The formation of the crystallographic pattern of the biological substrate is related to the influence of its components on the crystallization grid of the most basic crystal-forming substance — copper chloride. Moreover, to obtain a crystallographic pattern, milligrams of tear fluid, which corresponds to half the length of its adsorption on the filter paper, are sufficient. Conclusions. The results we obtained allowed us to reveal that even a small amount of tear fluid adsorbed on the filter strip has the ability for thesiographic crystal formation, which indicates the significant sensitivity of this research method. A crystallographic pattern of the tear basal fluid can be obtained from desiccated filter strips, which makes it possible to study it in a delayed manner. Considering the simplicity of the thesiographic method and its clarity, obtaining a crystallographic pattern of tear fluid is a promising screening method for clinical ophthalmology. When clarifying the features of the crystallogram of tear fluid, it is necessary to study its morphology after magnifying the size of the crystallographic pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]