The following abstract details some research that was undertake to characterise what is happening in ocular rosacea. There is currently no accepted diagnostic test for rosacea.
Some History
Rosacea News first highlighted a possible diagnostic test for ocular rosacea in late 2005. The article from the Journal of Proteome Research concluded that “The high abundance of oligosaccharides in the tear fluid of patients with rosacea may lead to an objective diagnostic marker for the disease.”
In 2006 an interesting patent titled METHODS OF OLIGOSACCHARIDE PROFILING FOR THE DETECTION OF OCULAR ROSACEA covering the relationship between an oligosaccharide specific to an inflammatory disease, more specifically ocular rosacea surfaced. The patent raises the possibility of an ocular rosacea treatment that uses “a therapeutically effective amount of an antibody that binds specifically to a unique oligosaccharide”.
Latest Research
This just published research had some solid findings of particular molecules in the skin of ocular rosacea sufferers.
The researchers found that the following 5 molecules were much higher in the skin of ocular rosacea sufferers compared to controls.
What we aren’t told in the abstract, though is whether the ocular rosacea sufferers all also had facial rosacea. This could be important as these elevated counts could then equally be indicative of facial rosacea as well.
Elevated Molecules in Ocular Rosacea
- interleukin-1β,
- interleukin-16,
- stem cell factor,
- monocyte chemotactic protein-1, and
- monokine induced by γ-interferon
Interferons are proteins that are the by product of immune cells responding to pathogens. Interleukins are cytokines also involved in the immune response.
Abstract
Molecular Biologic Assessment of Cutaneous Specimens of Ocular Rosacea.
Ophthal Plast Reconstr Surg. 2012 May 21
Wladis EJ, Iglesias BV, Adam AP, Gosselin EJ.
Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery, Department of Ophthalmology, Albany Medical College, Albany, New York, New York, U.S.A. Division of Immunology and Microbial Disease, Albany Medical College, Albany, New York, New York, U.S.A. Center for Cell Biology and Cancer Research, Albany Medical College, Albany, New York, New York, U.S.A.
PURPOSE: To characterize the molecular biologic environment of pathological skin in ocular rosacea and to differentiate the levels of inflammatory molecules in ocular rosacea from those of normal skin.
METHODS: The concentrations of 48 molecules were assayed in cutaneous biopsies taken from patients with ocular rosacea and from normal controls.
RESULTS: There were very few molecular differences between the 2 groups, and 43 of the 48 molecules that were measured in this study were not significantly different between the 2 groups. The concentrations of 5 molecules (interleukin-1β, interleukin-16, stem cell factor, monocyte chemotactic protein-1, and monokine induced by γ-interferon) were significantly enriched in ocular rosacea.
CONCLUSION: Ocular rosacea is a highly ordered molecular process and involves elevations in the concentrations of specific molecules. The particular pattern of enrichment supports the notion that ocular rosacea represents a disorder of innate immunity. Furthermore, these molecules may represent novel therapeutic targets in the future management of this disorder.
David,
do you have any info on the Gene Signal’s GS-101 (Aganirsen) anti-neovascularization eye drops currently in Phase III trials? I am surprised the drug hasn’t been talked about or reported about before, here. It seems a very promising drug for the ocular rosacea together with other angiogenesis-mediated corneal diseases from what I’ve read.
Hi Mirko,
I haven’t come across Aganirsen in my readings. What relevance to rosacea do you see ?
dp.
Well, growth of the new blood vessels lies in the heart of the vicious circle of inflammation in rosacea, ocular and facial – right? The general aim is to lower their reactivity and to destroy their excess growth that resulted from the chronic inflammation. (More vessels = more inflammation = more new vessels etc.) We very effectively use lasers on the face for that cause. To me personally they were a thing that made a night/day difference for my facial symptoms and diseases progression.
These eye drops are seemingly able to do the same for the surface of the eye which is a very important issue of other diseases, not just rosacea.
None of the antibiotics that I used were able to, nor is it expected from them to reverse that process, but only to lower the activity of inflammatory cells which to some degree eases the symptoms. (Face or eyes). Getting to the issue of vessel multiplication is important. Again, that’s why lasers are a staple for our disease. Using tetracyclines, macrolides and Restasis just to indirectly target some of the symptoms of the eye inflammation around the central issue is a very limited approach.