General examination of the eye was carried out in 22 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and in 10 with scleroderma. 3 of the SLE and 2 of the scleroderma patients had keratoconjunctivitis sicca. Fluorescein angiography showed abnormalities of the retinal vasculature in one of a subgroup of 12 SLE patients and one of 10 scleroderma patients. None of the 12 SLE patients had abnormal...

In systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), ocular involvement is common (prevalence up to 30%) but extremely varied.The most common manifestation is keratoconjunctivitis sicca (in about 25%). Though posterior segment disease is not uncommon, choroidal involvement and optic neuropathy are rare. Visual loss from neuro-ophthalmic involvement is often due to lupus optic neuropathy. Less than five perce...

INTRODUCTION Sj€ ogren syndrome is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by dry eyes (keratoconjunctivitis sicca) and dry mouth (xerostomia). Common cutaneous manifestations of Sj€ ogren syndrome include xerosis, annular erythema, hypergammaglobulinemic purpura, and immunologic inflammatory conditions such as vasculitis (leukocytoclastic and urticarial). The clinical manifestations of vas...

We report the natural history of keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) in two rabbit models. The first one (full KCS model) was created by closing the lacrimal gland excretory duct, and removing the nictitating membrane and harderian gland. We created the second one (lacrimal gland duct only [LGDO]-KCS model) by closing the lacrimal gland excretory duct. Although tear film osmolarity was abnormally ...

In the past I5 years various types of scleral contact lenses have been developed for the treatment of pathological conditions of the cornea and conjunctiva. Our previous investigations found the hydrophilic corneo-scleral lens very effective in the treatment of various inflammatory and degenerative corneal changes (Krejci, I970, 1971). In our present study the Czech hydrophilic corneo-scleral c...

Autoantibodies to the three extractable nuclear antigens (ENA), Anti-SSA (Ro), Anti-Sm, Anti-RNP and antinuclear antibodies were determined in 150 patients with SLE. Seventy patients (46.7%) had Anti-SSA (Ro), 40 (26.7%) Anti-Sm and 25 (16.7%) Anti-RNP antibodies. Ninety four percent patients had a positive Fluorescent anti-nuclear antibody (FANA) test. The commonest FANA pattern is the speckle...

Graft versus host disease (GVHD) is a common complication of allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT). Ocular GVHD develops in approximately 40-60% of patients following allo-SCT and its most common clinical manifestations include keratoconjunctivitis sicca and cicatricial conjunctivitis. Ocular GVHD may lead to severe ocular surface disease, which can significantly diminish quality of l...

Sjögren's syndrome is a multisystem inflammatory rheumatic disease that is classified into primary and secondary forms, with cardinal features in the eye (keratoconjunctivitis sicca) and mouth (xerostomia). The aetiology behind this autoimmune exocrinopathy is probably multifactorial and influenced by genetic as well as by environmental factors that are as yet unknown. A genetic predisposition ...

Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune disease characterized by keratoconjunctivitis sicca and xerostomia. There are actually no diagnostic criteria for SS, but classification criteria based on the revised American-European criteria have been elaborated. These include subjective criteria: ocular and oral symptoms, and objective criteria: ocular, histopathological, oral, and serological signs....