Customary practices in the monitoring of dry eye disease in Sjogren's syndrome / Prácticas habituales en la supervisión de la enfermedad del ojo seco en el Síndrome de Sjogren

Purpose: Diagnostic testing for dry eye disease (DED) in Sjogren's syndrome (SS) is well described. Little is published about monitoring this systemic autoimmune DED. We analyzed the SS related DED tests used in North American optometric practices and compared academic settings to private practice settings. Methods: A retrospective chart review of 123 SS charts from 6 optometric practices in North America was conducted. Testing done during the first examination following a SS diagnosis was recorded on Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) database. The complete data file was reviewed and testing type and methodology were compared. Results: Symptoms of DED (98.4% of charts),meibomian gland dysfunction (76.4% of charts), corneal staining with fluorescein (75.6% of charts) and anterior blepharitis (73.2% of charts) were the most frequently recorded variables. Clinicians used different methodologies to measure and grade these variables. Private practitioners were more likely to use symptom questionnaires and grading scales and to describe anterior blepharitis. Academic settings were more likely to record TBUT and tear meniscus height. Conclusions: The monitoring of DED in SS is not uniform in optometric offices across North America. Creating accepted standards of testing will improve the ability of clinicians and researchers to communicate and understand the course of DED in SS

Objetivo: Las pruebas diagnósticas para la enfermedad del ojo seco en el síndrome de Sjogren (SS) están bien descritas. Se ha publicado poco acerca de la supervisión de este síndrome del ojo seco autoinmune sistémico. Analizamos el SS relacionado con las pruebas de ojo seco en las prácticas optométricas de Norte América, y comparamos los centros académicos con los centros de práctica privada. Métodos: Se realizó una revisión retrospectiva de 123 historias clínicas de SS procedentes de 6 centros optométricos de Norte América. Las pruebas realizadas durante el primer examen, tras el diagnóstico de SS, se registraron en la base de datos Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap). Se revisó el archivo de datos completo y se compararon el tipo de prueba y la metodología. Resultados: Las variables más frecuentemente registradas fueron los síntomas de ojo seco (98,4% de las historias), disfunción de la glándula de Meibomio (76,4%), tinción corneal con fluoresceína (75,6%), y blefaritis anterior (73,2%). Los clínicos utilizaron diferentes metodologías para medir y clasificar dichas variables. Los facultativos privados tendieron a utilizar con mayor frecuencia los cuestionarios de síntomas y las escalas de clasificación, y a describir la blefaritis anterior. Los centros académicos tendieron a registrar con mayor frecuencia TBUT y la altura del menisco lagrimal. Conclusiones: La supervisión del ojo seco en el SS no es uniforme en los centros optométricos de Norte América. La creación de estándares de pruebas aceptados mejoraría la capacidad de comunicar y comprender el curso del ojo seco en el SS por parte de clínicos e investigadores

Customary practices in the monitoring of dry eye disease in Sjogren's syndrome.

PURPOSE: Diagnostic testing for dry eye disease (DED) in Sjogren's syndrome (SS) is well described. Little is published about monitoring this systemic autoimmune DED. We analyzed the SS related DED tests used in North American optometric practices and compared academic settings to private practice settings. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of 123 SS charts from 6 optometric practices in North America was conducted. Testing done during the first examination following a SS diagnosis was recorded on Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) database. The complete data file was reviewed and testing type and methodology were compared. RESULTS: Symptoms of DED (98.4% of charts),meibomian gland dysfunction (76.4% of charts), corneal staining with fluorescein (75.6% of charts) and anterior blepharitis (73.2% of charts) were the most frequently recorded variables. Clinicians used different methodologies to measure and grade these variables. Private practitioners were more likely to use symptom questionnaires and grading scales and to describe anterior blepharitis. Academic settings were more likely to record TBUT and tear meniscus height. CONCLUSIONS: The monitoring of DED in SS is not uniform in optometric offices across North America. Creating accepted standards of testing will improve the ability of clinicians and researchers to communicate and understand the course of DED in SS.

Permeation through phospholipid bilayers, skin-cell penetration, plasma stability, and CD spectra of α- and ß-oligoproline derivatives.

After a survey of the special role, which the amino acid proline plays in the chemistry of life, the cell-penetrating properties of polycationic proline-containing peptides are discussed, and the widely unknown discovery by the Giralt group (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 124, 8876) is acknowledged, according to which fluorescein-labeled tetradecaproline is slowly taken up by rat kidney cells (NRK-49F). Here, we describe details of our previously mentioned (Chem. Biodiversity 2004, 1, 1111) observation that a hexa-ß(3)-Pro derivative penetrates fibroblast cells, and we present the results of an extensive investigation of oligo-L- and oligo-D-α-prolines, as well as of oligo-ß(2)h- and oligo-ß(3)h-prolines without and with fluorescence labels (1-8; Fig. 1). Permeation through protein-free phospholipid bilayers is detected with the nanoFAST biochip technology (Figs. 2-4). This methodology is applied for the first time for quantitative determination of translocation rates of cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) across lipid bilayers. Cell penetration is observed with mouse (3T3) and human foreskin fibroblasts (HFF; Figs. 5 and 6-8, resp.). The stabilities of oligoprolines in heparin-stabilized human plasma increase with decreasing chain lengths (Figs. 9-11). Time- and solvent-dependent CD spectra of most of the oligoprolines (Figs. 13 and 14) show changes that may be interpreted as arising from aggregation, and broadening of the NMR signals with time confirms this assumption.