Br J Ophthalmol 1999;83:390-395 ( April )
Treatment of dry eye by autologous serum application in
Sjögren's syndrome
Kazuo Tsubota,a b c
Eiki Goto,a b c
Hiromi Fujita,a c
Masafumi Ono,a d
Hiroko Inoue,a
Ichiro Saito,e
Shigeto Shimmuraa b c
a Department of
Ophthalmology, Tokyo Dental College, Chiba, Japan, b Department of Ophthalmology, Keio
University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan, c Oral Research Center,
Tokyo Dental College, Chiba, Japan, d Department
of Ophthalmology, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan, e Department of Pathology, Tokushima
University School of Dentistry, Tokushima, Japan
Correspondence to: Kazuo Tsubota, MD, Department of
Ophthalmology, Tokyo Dental College, 11-13 Sugano 5 Chome,
Ichikawa-shi, Chiba, Japan 272-8513.
Accepted for publication 26 August 1998
AIM
To evaluate the
efficacy of autologous serum application for the treatment of dry eye
in Sjögren's syndrome.
METHODSThe stability
of essential components (EGF, vitamin A, and TGF-
) in preserved
serum were examined following preservation at 4°C and 
20°C. In a
primary clinical trial, 12 patients with Sjögren's syndrome were
treated with autologous serum (diluted to 20% with sterile saline) for
4 weeks, and vital staining of the ocular surface was compared before
and after treatment. The effects of serum on mucin (MUC-1) expression
were observed in cultured conjunctival epithelial cells in vitro.
RESULTSEGF, vitamin
A, and TGF- were well preserved for up to 1 month in the
refrigerator at 4°C and up to 3 months in the freezer at 20°C.
Rose bengal and fluorescein scores improved significantly from the
initial scores of 5.3 and 5.6 to 1.7 and 2.5 after 4 weeks,
respectively. The additive effect of human serum for cultured conjunctival epithelial cells showed significant MUC-1 upregulation on
the cell surface.
CONCLUSIONAutologous
serum application is a safe and efficient way to provide essential
components to the ocular surface in the treatment of dry eye associated
with Sjögren's syndrome.
Keywords:
autologous serum;
Sjögren's
syndrome;
tears ocular surface
© 1999 by British Journal of Ophthalmology
