Study of Blood Lipid Levels and C-Reactive Protein in Patients with Pseudoexfoliation Syndrome

Aim: To evaluate the relationship between the level of blood lipids and inflammatory reaction protein and pseudoexfoliation syndrome. Methods: The research sample included 75 patients with pseudoexfoliation deposits that were discovered during the examination of the anterior sections of the eye on the slit lamp, attending the general eye clinic at Tishreen University Hospital in Lattakia during the time period 2022-2023, who investigated the inclusion criteria in the research, in addition to a control sample consisting of 75 patients as well. All participants underwent a detailed clinical history and ophthalmological examination including visual acuity examination and slit-lamp examination before and after mydriasis, after which the following laboratory tests were performed: CRP, LDL, HDL, TC, and TG on peripheral blood samples drawn after a 12-hour fast. Results: By comparing the patient group with the control group, our study found that there were no statistically significant differences between the two research groups according to demographic variables, as it was (P-value=0.6) for gender and (P-value=0.1) for age. We also noted with this comparison that there were no statistically significant differences between the two research groups according to the average values of the inflammatory reaction protein (CRP) (P = 0.06), total cholesterol (TC) (P = 0.5), triglycerides (TG) (P = 0.4), and low-density lipoprotein. (LDL) (P=0.6) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (P=0.8) Conclusion: We did not find an increase in the level of lipids in the blood, nor even in the level of CRP, in PEX patients attending the eye clinic at Tishreen University Hospital in Lattakia. These findings raise doubts about the possible relationship between PEX and vascular disease. Because the results of our and other studies are inconclusive, the causes and correlates of PEX remain unexplained and more studies on this topic are needed.