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Clin Transl Sci 2022 May 24. Epub 2022 May 24.

Ocular Surface Diseases and Dry Eye Clinic, The Wilmer Eye Institute, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

Differentiating patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS) associated dry eye from non-SS dry eye is critical for monitoring and appropriate management of possible sight- or life-threatening extraglandular complications associated with SS. We tested whether reduced tear levels of immunoregulatory thrombospondin (TSP)-1, which also inhibits matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9, would reflect SS pathogenesis aiding the identification of patients with SS-dry eye. Total of 61 participants, including healthy controls (n=20), patients with non-SS dry eye (n=20) and SS-dry eye (n=21) were enrolled prospectively. Read More

BMC Pulm Med 2022 May 24;22(1):205. Epub 2022 May 24.

Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.

Background: Acute fibrinous and organizing pneumonia (AFOP) is a rare clinicopathological condition. Studies in the literature have reported that AFOP may be associated with respiratory infections, such as respiratory syncytial virus, influenza virus, Pneumocystis jirovecii, Penicillium citrinum, and Chlamydia infections. However, AFOP associated with Legionella infection has not been reported previously. Read More

Arthritis Res Ther 2022 May 23;24(1):121. Epub 2022 May 23.

Department of Rheumatology, The Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China.

Objective: Primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS) is a heterogeneous chronic autoimmune disorder characterized by lymphocyte infiltration of the exocrine glands and the involvement and dysfunction of multiple organs and tissues. Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is the most common type of respiratory system damage. This study ascertained the factors related to ILD in patients with pSS (pSS-ILD), such as altered levels of circulating lymphocyte subtypes. Read More

J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus 2022 May-Jun;59(3):e35-e38. Epub 2022 May 1.

The authors present a case of a child who had severe dietary restriction with consumption of french fries only. He presented to the ophthalmology clinic with light perception vision in both eyes, and was found to have dry, leathery conjunctivae with Bitot's spots and hazy corneas with diffuse punctate epithelial erosions. Electroretinography testing showed an absent rod response and a decreased cone response. Read More

Sci Prog 2022 Apr-Jun;105(2):368504221102786

Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, 74723The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China.

Introduction: Eltrombopag, a kind of thrombopoietin (TPO) receptor agonist, plays the role on the megakaryocyte to activate the platelet production and rapidly increase the number of circulating platelets in patients with primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). Eltrombopag provides an opportunity for rapid tapering and/or cessation of corticosteroid therapy. However, it is not clear about the platelet response to Eltrombopag in ITP associated with Sjögren's Syndrome(SS). Read More

Front Immunol 2022 4;13:874285. Epub 2022 May 4.

Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.

Recent studies have demonstrated that the oral microbiome in patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is significantly different from that in healthy individuals. However, the potential role of the oral microbiome in SS pathogenesis has not been determined. In this study, stimulated intraductal saliva samples were collected from the parotid glands (PGs) of 23 SS and nine non-SS subjects through PG lavage and subjected to 16S ribosomal RNA amplicon sequencing. Read More

Front Immunol 2022 22;13:864448. Epub 2022 Apr 22.

Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.

Introduction: Primary Sjögren's Syndrome (PSS) is a chronic disease characterised by symptoms of oral and ocular dryness, pain, fatigue, anxiety and depression. PSS patients can be subclassified by the pattern of severity of these five key symptoms using the Newcastle Sjögren's Stratification Tool (NSST). Although PSS is often associated with one or more comorbidities, the relationship between comorbidities, polypharmacy, and PSS symptom burden is unclear. Read More

Sci Rep 2022 May 21;12(1):8593. Epub 2022 May 21.

Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, PO Box 110880, Gainesville, FL, 32611-0880, USA.

Sjögren's syndrome (SjS) is a female-dominated autoimmune disease involving lymphocytic infiltration of the exocrine glands. We have previously demonstrated cleavage of the TAM (Tyro3, Axl, Mer) receptor Mer is enhanced in SjS, leading to defective efferocytosis. Mer also plays a role in modulating phagocyte inflammatory response to apoptotic cells. Read More

Ophthalmology 2022 May 18. Epub 2022 May 18.

Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 3010. Electronic address:

Topic: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of interventions for treating eye strain related to computer use relative to placebo or no treatment.

Clinical Relevance: Computer use is pervasive and often associated with eye strain, referred to as "computer vision syndrome" (CVS). Currently, there are no clinical guidelines to help practitioners provide evidence-based advice about CVS treatments, many of which are directly marketed to patients. Read More

Cell Mol Life Sci 2022 May 20;79(6):307. Epub 2022 May 20.

Department of Diagnostic & Biomedical Sciences, School of Dentistry, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, 77054, USA.

Sjögren's syndrome (SjS) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by immune cell infiltration of the exocrine glands, mainly the salivary and lacrimal glands. Despite recent advances in the clinical and mechanistic characterization of the disease, its etiology remains largely unknown. Here, we report that mice with a deficiency for either Atg7 or Atg3, which are enzymes involved in the ubiquitin modification pathway, in the salivary glands exhibit a SjS-like phenotype, characterized by immune cell infiltration with autoantibody detection, acinar cell death, and dry mouth. Read More

Front Immunol 2022 3;13:845944. Epub 2022 May 3.

Institute of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.

Objective: The relationship between endometriosis and the ensuing risk of Sjögren's syndrome has remained unclear. This study aims to present epidemiological evidence for this connection.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of endometriosis patients (ICD-9-CM 617. Read More

RMD Open 2022 05;8(1)

Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

Objectives: Given the similarity in symptoms between primary Sjogren's syndrome (SjS) and non-SjS sicca syndrome (sicca), we sought to characterise clinical and proteomic predictors of symptoms in both groups in order to better understand disease mechanisms and help guide development of immunomodulatory treatments. These have not, to date, unequivocally improved symptoms in SjS clinical trials.

Methods: Serum proteomics was performed using O-link inflammation and cardiovascular II panels. Read More

Semin Ophthalmol 2022 May 19:1-12. Epub 2022 May 19.

The Cornea Institute, L V Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, India.

Background: Aqueous deficiency dry eye disease is a chronic and potentially sight-threatening condition, that occurs due to the dysfunction of the lacrimal glands. The aim of this review was to describe the various recent developments in the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of lacrimal gland insufficiency in aqueous deficiency dry eye disease.

Methods: A MEDLINE database search using PubMed was performed using the keywords: "dry eye disease/syndrome", "aqueous deficient/deficiency dry eye disease", "lacrimal gland" and "Sjogren's syndrome". Read More

Cornea 2022 May 13. Epub 2022 May 13.

Department of Ophthalmology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the clinical features, causative microorganisms, antibiotic susceptibility, and treatment outcomes in culture-proven microbial keratitis (MK) in patients with Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN) and to analyze the potential risk factors.

Methods: We reviewed the medical records of all patients with SJS/TEN who attended our department between 2009 and 2018. Patients with a diagnosis of MK who underwent corneal cultures were enrolled. Read More

Front Immunol 2022 2;13:829320. Epub 2022 May 2.

Department of Ophthalmology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China.

Purpose: The study assessed the validity of impression cytology (IC) and confocal microscopy (IVCM) of lip mucosa compared with labial gland biopsy, anti-Sjögren's syndrome A (SSA)/Ro antibody status, and classification criteria in suspected primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) patients.

Methods: Clinically suspected pSS patients (n = 201) were enrolled consecutively and were divided into pSS (n = 56) and control (n = 145, only with dryness) groups according to the American College of Rheumatology-European League Against Rheumatism (ACR-EULAR) criteria. All patients underwent lip mucosa IC (inflammatory cell density) and IVCM (epithelium/intrinsic layer thickness and labial gland density/diameter) analyses. Read More

Front Immunol 2022 2;13:887041. Epub 2022 May 2.

Department of Pediatrics, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune connective tissue disease (CTD), the main features of which are multiple serum autoantibodies and extensive involvement of multiple systems. The onset age of patients varies from childhood to middle age, with nearly 1/5 in childhood. Sjogren's syndrome (SS) is also an autoimmune disease characterized by high-degree lymphocytic infiltration of exocrine glands, usually occurring in middle-aged and older women, and rarely in childhood. Read More

Front Immunol 2022 29;13:874769. Epub 2022 Apr 29.

Immunology-Oncology Division, Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital Research Center, Montreal, QC, Canada.

Autoimmune diabetes arises spontaneously in Non-Obese Diabetic (NOD) mice, and the pathophysiology of this disease shares many similarities with human type 1 diabetes. Since its generation in 1980, the NOD mouse, derived from the Cataract Shinogi strain, has represented the gold standard of spontaneous disease models, allowing to investigate autoimmune diabetes disease progression and susceptibility traits, as well as to test a wide array of potential treatments and therapies. Beyond autoimmune diabetes, NOD mice also exhibit polyautoimmunity, presenting with a low incidence of autoimmune thyroiditis and Sjögren's syndrome. Read More

Front Immunol 2022 27;13:877243. Epub 2022 Apr 27.

Skull Base Research Center, Loghman Hakim Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Interferons (IFNs) are a group of cellular proteins with critical roles in the regulation of immune responses in the course of microbial infections. Moreover, expressions of IFNs are dysregulated in autoimmune disorders. IFNs are also a part of immune responses in malignant conditions. Read More

Ocul Surf 2022 May 11;25:65-70. Epub 2022 May 11.

Indiana University School of Optometry, Bloomington, IN, USA.

Purpose: To explore the effect of time on grading corneal fluorescein and conjunctival lissamine green staining in dry eye disease (DED).

Methods: Photographs of 68 subjects with non-Sjogren's DED (nSS DED) and 32 with Sjogren's DED (SS DED) were taken of corneal fluorescein staining, then conjunctival lissamine green staining every 30 s for at least 5 min. Photographs of one randomly selected eye were then randomly ordered and graded on a scale from 0 to 5 (severe staining) by two clinicians, masked to both site and subject. Read More

Eur J Pharm Sci 2022 May 11:106206. Epub 2022 May 11.

Department of Pharmaceutics Faculty of Pharmacy, Assiut University, Assiut, 71526, Egypt.

Dry eye disease (DED), keratoconjunctivitis sicca or dysfunctional tear syndrome, is the most prevalent ophthalmic disease which affects a substantial segment of people worldwide with increasing frequency. It is considered a multifactorial disease of the ocular surface and tear film, characterized by a variation of signs and symptoms. The symptoms range from mild to severe itching, burning, irritation, eye fatigue, and ocular inflammation that may lead to potential damage to the cornea, conjunctiva and even vision loss. Read More

J Clin Med 2022 Apr 22;11(9). Epub 2022 Apr 22.

Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore 168751, Singapore.

In vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) imaging is increasingly popular in ocular surface disease diagnosis and management. We conducted a systematic review to update the use of IVCM in the diagnosis and treatment of dry eye and meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). A literature review was conducted on IVCM studies in MGD, dry eye disease, systemic disease causing dry eye, dry eye in glaucoma patients, contact lens-associated ocular conditions, graft-versus-host disease, and Sjogren's syndrome-related dry eye. Read More

Molecules 2022 May 4;27(9). Epub 2022 May 4.

Department of Oral Pathology, School of Dentistry, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Korea.

Exposure to particulate matter is a causative factor of dry eye disease. We aimed to investigate the beneficial effect of eye drops containing aucubin on dry eye disease induced by urban particulate matter (UPM). Dry eye was induced in male SD rats (6 weeks old) by topical exposure to UPM thrice a day for 5 d. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2022 May 6;23(9). Epub 2022 May 6.

Yonsei Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Yonsei University, 85 Songdogwahak-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 21983, Korea.

Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is highly expressed on the ocular epithelium and plays a pivotal role in the fluid secretion driven by chloride transport. Dry eye disease is one of the most common diseases with limited therapeutic options. In this study, a high-throughput screening was performed to identify novel CFTR activators capable of inducing chloride secretion on the ocular surface. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2022 May 4;23(9). Epub 2022 May 4.

Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Animal models of autoimmunity and human genetic association studies indicate that the dysregulation of B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling is an important driver of autoimmunity. We previously showed that in circulating B cells from primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) patients with high systemic disease activity, protein expression of the BCR signaling molecule Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) was increased and correlated with T-cell infiltration in the target organ. We hypothesized that these alterations could be driven by increased B-cell activating factor (BAFF) levels in pSS. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2022 Apr 28;23(9). Epub 2022 Apr 28.

Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, Kochi 783-8505, Japan.

Dry eye disease (DED) and allergic conjunctivitis affect a large number of patients, and many patients usually have both symptoms. We investigated the interactions between DED and allergic conjunctivitis in mice. Four experimental groups were compared: control, DED, allergy, and allergy with DED. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2022 Apr 20;23(9). Epub 2022 Apr 20.

Centre for Ophthalmology, Clinical Research University Eye Hospital Tübingen, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Elfriede-Aulhorn-Straße 7, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany.

Dry eye is a multifactorial disease that affects the ocular surface and tear fluid. Current treatment options include lubricant eye drop application several times a day. However, these eye drops often cause local side effects like ocular allergies or blurred vision after the application. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2022 Apr 20;23(9). Epub 2022 Apr 20.

Schepens Eye Research Institute of Mass. Eye and Ear, Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, 20 Staniford St., Boston, MA 02114, USA.

Tear hyperosmolarity plays an essential role in the initiation and progression of dry-eye disease. Under a hyperosmotic environment, corneal epithelial cells experience perturbations in endoplasmic reticulum function that can lead to proinflammatory signaling and apoptosis. In this study, we investigated the effect of tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA), a chemical chaperone known to protect against endoplasmic reticulum stress, on corneal epithelial cells exposed to hyperosmotic conditions. Read More

BMC Ophthalmol 2022 May 13;22(1):218. Epub 2022 May 13.

Eye Institute and Department of Ophthalmology, Eye and ENT Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

Background: The purpose of this study was to identify changes in tear film function and meibomian gland function in children after congenital/developmental cataract surgery.

Methods: This study enrolled 16 eyes of 16 congenital/developmental cataract patients (mean age: 8.05 ± 1. Read More

Sci Rep 2022 May 13;12(1):7957. Epub 2022 May 13.

PriMed Non-Human Primate Research Center of Sichuan PriMed Shines Bio-Tech Co., Ltd., Ya'an, 625000, Sichuan, China.

Dry eye disease (DED), a multifactorial ocular surface disease, is estimated to affect up to 34% of individuals over 50 years old. Although numerous animal models, including rodents and rabbits, have been developed to mimic the pathophysiologic mechanisms involved in dry eye, there is a lack of non-human primate (NHP) models, critical for translational drug studies. Here, we developed a novel desiccating stress-induced dry eye disease model using Rhesus macaque monkeys. Read More

Int Ophthalmol 2022 May 12. Epub 2022 May 12.

Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China.

Purpose: To assess the effect of oral vitamin D supplementation in dry eye after femtosecond laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (FS-LASIK).

Setting: Liuzhou Worker's Hospital.

Design: This prospective study included 90 patients selected between January and December in 2019, who underwent FS-LASIK operation in our hospital and had obvious symptoms indicating dry eyes 1 month after operation. Read More