Abstract: Serum drops from SJS vs other dry eye patients

Interesting... in case any SJS patients were worried their blood might not be as good as the next person's for serum drops.

Stability of Epitheliotrophic Factors in Autologous Serum Eye Drops from Chronic Stevens-Johnson Syndrome Dry Eye Compared to Non-autoimmune Dry Eye.

Purpose:
To compare the concentrations of epitheliotrophic factors in autologous serum eye drops (ASE) prepared from sera of chronic Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) patients with dry eyes to those prepared from non-autoimmune dry eye controls and to study the stability of the epitheliotrophic factors in different storage conditions.

Methods:
Twenty-percent ASE were prepared from 10 chronic SJS patients with dry eyes and 10 age-matched non-autoimmune dry eye controls. The concentrations of major epitheliotrophic factors comprising epidermal growth factor (EGF), transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-β1), transforming growth factor-beta2 (TGF-β2), and fibronectin in those ASE preparations were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) at baseline and after different storage conditions: at 4°C for 1 week and 1 month; and at -20°C for 1, 3 and 6 months.

Results:
There were no significant differences in the concentrations of EGF, TGF-β1, TGF-β2 and fibronectin in 20% ASE between the SJS and control groups (EGF: 176.9 ± 40.9 vs. 185.5 ± 36.9 pg/mL, TGF-β1: 9.5 ± 2.1 vs. 9.5 ± 1.9 ng/mL, TGF-β2: 55.3 ± 30.0 vs. 63.91 ± 45.6 pg/mL and fibronectin: 70.5 ± 20.2 vs. 62.2 ± 21.3 µg/mL, respectively). These factors were stable at 4°C for up to 1 month. Storage at -20°C for up to 6 months resulted in a slight decrease in TGF-β1 (SJS: from 9.5-8.4 ng/mL, p < 0.01 and control: from 9.5-8.1 ng/mL, p < 0.01).

Conclusions:
The results suggested that the epitheliotrophic capacity of ASE from chronic SJS should be comparable to those from non-autoimmune dry eye patients, and that ASE should be sufficiently stable for up to 6 months, if stored properly at -20°C.

Curr Eye Res. 2011 Sep;36(9):775-81.
Phasukkijwatana N, Lertrit P, Liammongkolkul S, Prabhasawat P.
Source
Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University , Bangkok , Thailand.