Surv Ophthalmol. 2009 May-Jun; 54(3): 321-38Donnenfeld E, Pflugfelder SCCyclosporine has been used successfully as a systemic immunomodulator for more than two decades, and numerous studies have investigated its mechanisms of action. In 2003 an ophthalmic formulation, cyclosporine 0.05% ophthalmic emulsion, was approved by the FDA to treat dry eye disease. Topical cyclosporine emulsion has also been investigated for treatment of other ocular surface disorders that may have an immune-based inflammatory component. In these trials, cyclosporine 0.05% ophthalmic emulsion has shown efficacy for management of posterior blepharitis, ocular rosacea, post-LASIK dry eye, contact lens intolerance, atopic keratoconjunctivitis, graft-versus-host disease, and herpetic stromal keratitis. As these disorders are often refractory to other available treatments, ophthalmic cyclosporine is a welcome nontoxic adjunct or replacement to potentially toxic topical or systemic immunosuppressive therapies.
To estimate the prevalence of dry eye and to investigate its relationship with lifestyle and systemic factors in a general adult population in north-western Spain. METHODS: A dry eye questionnaire was administered and objective tests were performed in 654 individuals [mean age (Standard deviation): 63.6 (14.4) years, range: 40-96, 37.2% males]. Subjects were considered symptomatic when one or more of the symptoms of the questionnaire were present often or all the time. Schirmer test or= 3 and fluorescein staining >or= 1 were considered indicative of signs. Dry eye was defined as the simultaneous presence of symptoms and at least one sign. A design based analysis was performed and all calculations were weighted to give unbiased estimates. RESULTS: Dry eye prevalence was 11.0% (95%confidence interval [CI] 8.6-13.3). Dry eye was found to be more frequent in women (11.9%, 95%CI 8.8-15.1) than in men (9.0%, 95%CI 5.3-12.6), and was significantly associated with aging (p autoimmune diseas...