Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0022575 (keratoconjunctivitis sicca)
 772 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

To determine the optimum solution concentration for lowering elevated tear film osmolarity in keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS), tear osmolarity was measured in four KCS patients before and after instillation of either an isotonic saline solution or one of four hypotonic saline solutions (range, 75-225 mOsm/L). Average tear osmolarity one minute after instillation was significantly lower with the hypotonic solutions than with the isotonic saline (mean +/- SEM, 290 +/- 3 mOsm/L vs. 317 +/- 1 mOsm/L, P less than 0.0005). Solutions 150 mOsm/L or less were most effective in lowering osmolarity; the 75 mOsm/L solution was occasionally associated with irritation. In 16 KCS patients, we then compared the therapeutic efficacy of the 150 mOsm/L solution with that of an otherwise identical isotonic solution in a two-week, double-masked, crossover study. The 150 mOsm/L solution was superior for symptom relief by nearly 2:1 (P = 0.01).
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PMID:Tear diluents in the treatment of keratoconjunctivitis sicca. 401 Nov 38

This preliminary study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness and dosage of oral use of interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) in the treatment of naturally occurring, immune-mediated, canine keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS). Dogs with chronic immune-mediated KCS were selected from the two clinic populations. All medication, except topical artificial tears, was discontinued at least 2 weeks prior to beginning the clinical trial. IFN-alpha was administered orally once daily to the dogs by their owners as the sole therapy for the KCS. Examinations of the dogs were performed every 2 weeks for the duration of the trial (12 weeks). Each dog was given either two or three separate, escalating doses (20, 40, 80 IU of the IFN-alpha. A favorable response was observed in 55% (11/20) of all dogs treated. Clinical findings of those dogs that responded included increased wetting of the eyes, decreased mucus discharge, and fewer signs of discomfort. There was a nearly significant difference (p = 0.08) in pretreatment mean Schirmer's tear test (STT) between the dogs that responded (6.4 +/- SEM 0.62 mm/min) and those that did not respond (4.7 +/- SEM 0.69 mm/min) to the orally administered IFN-alpha. Seven of 11 dogs with favorable outcomes had an increased STT of at least 5 mm/min after treatment with oral IFN-alpha and the group had a post-treatment STT (10.5 +/- SEM 1.4 mm/min) significantly greater than baseline (p = 0.0004). The post-treatment STT of the dogs that did respond was significantly greater (p < 0.01) than the post-treatment mean STT of dogs that did not respond. All dogs that responded did so with the 20 or 40 IU dose of IFN-alpha. No side effects were noted and all dogs tolerated the treatment well.
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PMID:Low-dose oral administration of interferon-alpha for the treatment of immune-mediated keratoconjunctivitis sicca in dogs. 1047 36

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of pimecrolimus oil-based eye drops in alleviating the clinical signs of keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) in dogs and to compare the efficacy with that of cyclosporine A (CsA) ointment. An open-label, multicenter study enrolling 44 dogs previously untreated with CsA was conducted. Dogs were randomly assigned to a treatment group and medicated twice daily for 8 weeks. After that time the mean increase (+/-SEM) in the Schirmer tear test was 9.2+/-1.6 mm/min in the pimecrolimus group and 5.8+/-1.1 mm/min in the CsA group (P=0.085). The improvement in clinical signs of inflammation in eyes treated with pimecrolimus was significantly greater than in eyes treated with CsA (P=0.02). The results show that 1% pimecrolimus oily eye drops are as safe as and more effective than CsA ointment in controlling KCS in dogs.
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PMID:Clinical evaluation of pimecrolimus eye drops for treatment of canine keratoconjunctivitis sicca: a comparison with cyclosporine A. 1795 Jun 39