Bill Harvey: Inflammatory thinking

Inflammation seems to be at the root of many disease processes and will likely influence future treatments for a range of conditions. Such has been the focus of many recent publications.

Only last weekend, the Sunday papers featured the thoughts of a leading psychiatrist who has found evidence that inflammation is contributory to much depressive illness.

The important role of inflammatory cascades in the assessment and management of dry eye disease is similarly a hot topic and its importance is recognised in the latest definition of the condition that came from TFOS last year. An improved understanding of the role of inflammation in the presentation of dry eye would lead to major breakthroughs in treatment rather than symptom alleviation.