Basic research into Sjögren's syndrome included at ARVO

Much of the research related to Sjögren's syndrome is basic biomedical research - studies into cellular and molecular changes thought to be involved in how the disease progresses. Sometimes this research leads to a dead end, and other times it provides insights into the origins and development of Sjögren's. Either way, these studies - which can seem obscure and mysterious outside the laboratory - provide the building blocks of knowledge required for later research into treatment and prevention of disease. A number of presentations at the 2002 Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Opthalmology (ARVO) provide good examples of the basic research being conducted into Sjögren's and dry eye syndrome. Scientists are looking into the roles of a particular enzyme, matrix metalloproteinase-9, in corneal disease that develops in dry eye; the protein neurturin as a factor in development of dry eye; proinflammatory proteins known as cytokines in impairment of the lacrimal glands; and apoptosis (a type of cell death) in development of dry eye and inflammation of the cornea.

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