'Snake-like' appearance of nuclear chromatin in conjunctival epithelial cells from patients with keratoconjunctivitis sicca.

Millipore filter imprints of conjunctiva in patients with conjunctival symptoms revealed a 'snake-like' appearance of the chromatin in nuclei of epithelial cells. A total of 40 patients were investigated. Abnormal cells were found in 8/16 patients with long-term keratoconjunctivitis sicca and in 6/24 patients suspected for Sjøgrens syndrome. The abnormal cells were typically arranged in clusters among morphologically normal epithelial cells. The finding was significantly correlated to the severity of the disease in patients with keratoconjunctivitis sicca. In all patients the abnormal cells could only be detected in millipore imprints of the upper bulbar conjunctiva and not in scrapings from the same area. The significance of the findings are discussed.