93
EW CORNEA
October 2018
Petris: rebecca@dryeyecompany.com
Shah: rupas@revisioneyes.com
Zashin: szashin823@aol.com
of medicine, University of Texas
Southwestern Medical School, Dal-
las, thinks is critical for treatment.
"I think it's important that all my
Sjögren's patients are under the
care of an ophthalmologist as they
almost all have dry eyes," he said.
When his patients continue to have
dry eye issues despite treatment, he
will refer them to an ophthalmol-
ogist or corneal specialist with an
interest in dry eye.
Looking for other treatments
Physicians are looking ahead to
other options that may be useful in
the future.
Although the TrueTear neu-
rostimulator device (Allergan) is
new to the market, Ms. Petris has
seen positive comments about it in
social media groups. TrueTear helps
patients increase production of
their own tears. She also has seen a
growing interest in dry eye glasses to
manage symptoms.
Dr. Shah is interested in both
TrueTear and Dextenza (Ocular
Therapeutix, Bedford, Massachu-
setts), a low-dose dexamethasone
delivery system within a punctal
plug. "This may prove promising for
Sjögren's patients who have severe
inflammation," she said.
There is interest in biologic
therapy to treat Sjögren's patients.
For example, Dr. Zashin took part in
a clinical trial with the rheumatoid
arthritis drug Orencia (abatacept,
Bristol-Myers Squibb, New York) to
treat Sjögren's. However, results are
not yet published. Dr. Akpek would
like to see more consideration of
dry eye and Sjögren's syndrome as
pharmaceutical companies test or
expand biologic indications and in-
dications for other medications. EW
References
1. Sjögren's Syndrome Foundation. Living with
Sjögren's 2016. www.sjogrens.org/home/
about-sjogrens/livingwithsjogrenssurvey
2. Sjögren's Syndrome Foundation. About
Sjögren's/Diagnosis. www.sjogrens.org/home/
about-sjogrens/diagnosis
3. Vivino FB. Sjögren's syndrome: Clinical
aspects. Clin Immunol. 2017;182:48–54.
4. Gonzales JA, et al. How are ocular signs
and symptoms of dry eye associated with
depression in women with and without
Sjögren syndrome? Am J Ophthalmol.
2018;191:42–48.
Editors' note: The sources have no
financial interests related to their
comments.
Contact information
Akpek: esakpek@jhmi.edu
Ozerov: iozerov@gmail.com
Patel: rapatel5462@gmail.com
