Eye Clinic Section, Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Turin, 10126 Turin, Italy.
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Mar 17;23(6):3269. doi: 10.3390/ijms23063269.
Sex hormones are molecules produced by the gonads and to a small extent by the adrenal gland, which not only determine the primary and secondary sexual characteristics of an individual, differentiating man from woman, but also participate in the functioning of the various systems of the body. The evidence that many eye diseases differ in terms of prevalence between men and women has allowed us, in recent years, to carry out several studies that have investigated the association between sex hormones and the pathophysiology of eye tissues. Specific receptors for sex hormones have been found on the lacrimal and meibomian glands, conjunctiva, cornea, lens, retina, and choroid. This work summarizes the current knowledge on the role that sex hormones play in the pathogenesis of the most common ocular disorders and indicates our clinical experience in these situations. The aim is to stimulate an interdisciplinary approach between endocrinology, neurology, molecular biology, and ophthalmology to improve the management of these diseases and to lay the foundations for new therapeutic strategies.
性激素是由性腺产生的分子，在较小程度上由肾上腺产生，它们不仅决定个体的主要和次要性特征，将男性与女性区分开来，而且还参与身体各个系统的功能。有证据表明，许多眼部疾病在男性和女性中的患病率存在差异，这使得我们近年来能够进行多项研究，调查性激素与眼部组织病理生理学之间的关联。泪腺和睑板腺、结膜、角膜、晶状体、视网膜和脉络膜上都发现了性激素的特定受体。这项工作总结了目前关于性激素在最常见眼部疾病发病机制中所起作用的知识，并介绍了我们在这些情况下的临床经验。目的是在内分泌学、神经病学、分子生物学和眼科学之间建立一种跨学科方法，以改善这些疾病的治疗，并为新的治疗策略奠定基础。
