Current Research
Sjögren’s Team for Accelerating Medicines Partnership (STAMP)
The purpose of this study of Sjögren’s disease is to determine its cause, to improve understanding of it, and to help find new therapies. One very important part of this study is to compare the gene expression patterns in the blood cells and tissues of patients with Sjögren’s disease and in controls that do not have Sjögren’s disease in an attempt to gather information regarding the cause(s) of this disease. Learning the cause of Sjögren’s disease is expected to lead to advances that improve the diagnostic tests and therapies for Sjögren’s disease.
Eligible patients include adults who have been diagnosed with Sjögren’s disease, with clinical symptoms strongly suggestive of Sjögren’s disease, or who have participated in the Sjögren’s International Collaborative Clinical Alliance (SICCA) study, or in the OMRF Sjögren’s study between 2004 and 2012.
For more information or to confirm your eligibility, please contact Freena Chaudhry, research coordinator at fchaudh4@jhu.edu or 410-550-9821.
A Multicenter, Observational Study to Evaluate Corneal Neurosensory Abnormalities in Patients with Sjögren’s Dry Eye
Sjögren’s disease is an autoimmune condition typically hallmarked by immunologic attack on the secretory glands, namely the salivary and the lacrimal glands, resulting in symptoms of dry eye and dry mouth, which occur in approximately 98.2% of patients. Our primary objective is to assess the proportion of patients with Sjogren’s dry eye who demonstrate altered corneal sensitivity.
Eligible patients include adults with a confirmed diagnosis of Sjögren’s for a minimum of 3 months, a confirmed history of dry eye for a minimum of 3 months, and clinically significant punctate corneal fluorescein staining.
For more information or to confirm your eligibility, please contact Richard Medina, research technologist at rmedin19@jhu.edu or 626-343-3967.
The Role of the Ocular Surface Microbiome in the Pathogenesis of Ocular Rosacea
This study will employ sophisticated techniques to determine the ocular surface microbiome and its associations with the inflammatory response in patients with rosacea. This will help us understand underlying mechanisms and develop better-targeted treatment modalities.
Patients aged 18 years and older with ocular rosacea and healthy subjects with no rosacea will be recruited. Ocular surface microbiome will be investigated through a lid margin swab. Participants will be administered a standardized questionnaire reviewing their ocular and systemic health at baseline. All participants will undergo skin and lid margin assessment followed by dry eye testing.
For more information or to confirm your eligibility, please contact Sezen Karakus, M.D. at skarakus@jhmi.edu or 410-955-5080.