Custom eye drops offer relief from severe dry eye for Cheryle Harwood

A couple of years ago, 50-year-old Cheryle Harwood of Highlandville was virtually a prisoner in her own home.

“It started out slowly, but eventually, I constantly felt like someone had thrown a handful of sand in my eyes. My eyes were very swollen and inflamed most of the time and no eye drops would help,” she says.
“On most days, I couldn’t read or drive because I couldn’t keep my eyes open, the pain was so bad. I couldn’t spend much time outside because the wind would dry them out even more. I felt very tired and ill most of the time. And I’m a person who was used to constantly being on the go.”

The mother of two and grandmother of 2-year-old Adalynne couldn’t enjoy the new home she and husband Randy, a Conco employee and pastor, had recently built in rural Highlandville because she was exhausted most of the time.

She also couldn’t watch movies, work on the computer or be around bright lights.

The Diagnosis

An appointment with St. John’s ophthalmologist and director of ophthalmology research Shachar Tauber, M.D., led to two surgeries to repair damage to Harwood’s eyes from insufficient and low-quality tear production, and finally, a diagnosis.

Dr. Tauber immediately suspected Harwood’s severe dry eye was caused by Sjogren’s disease, an autoimmune disorder in which the body attacks its own moisture-producing glands.

Although Harwood tested negative for Sjogren’s at first, Dr. Tauber’s instincts were correct. Harwood’s lab results eventually caught up with her Sjogren’s symptoms and she was diagnosed with the disease in the summer of 2006. She sees St. John’s rheumatologist Ann Winkler, M.D., to manage her Sjogren’s and prevent further damage to her body from it.

“After the eye surgeries, we tried both Restasis (prescription eye drops that decrease inflammation and increase tear production) and preservative-free artificial tears to keep her eyes moist,” Dr. Tauber says. “We were literally putting a ‘gumbo’ of different types of drops in Cheryle’s eyes, and none of it offered her much relief. That’s when I approached her about using autologous serum drops, which are eye drops made from her own blood serum.”

At that point, Harwood was ready to try anything to relieve her dry, burning eyes – even something as odd as eye drops made from her blood.

“The idea of ‘custom’ eye drops was pretty intriguing,” she says.

Autologous serum eye drops are a relatively new development in the ophthalmic world. Their use was discovered by accident in Japan, where a large number of people suffer from Sjogren’s disease.

“We use autologous serum eye drops in intervals for patients who have shingles and who have had Lasik and PRK procedures. We don’t know what chemical it is exactly in blood that has that healing property; we think it’s the combination of proteins such as albumin and insulin, and the body’s stem cells. They all work in concert to promote healing in the eyes when nothing else helps,” Dr. Tauber says. “We have about 15 to 20 patients in the autologous serum program at St. John’s.”

Making the Drops

Ophthalmic Assistant Marilynn Teague draws each patient’s blood and makes the drops under Dr. Tauber’s supervision.

The blood samples sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, then are spun in a centrifuge, which separates the red blood cells from the serum. The serum is then combined with artificial tears and bottled in eye-dropper bottles. The bottles are taken home by the patient and frozen when not in use. A bottle that is in use is thawed at room temperature and kept refrigerated.

Harwood visits Dr. Tauber’s office at St. John’s Clinic-Eye Specialists at St. John’s Surgery Center every six to eight weeks to have six vials of blood drawn for a new supply of drops.

“It took about three months’ of use for me to see the full effect. I use my drops about six or seven times a day, and they’ve made a huge difference. In addition to relief from the pain and burning of dry eye, the autologous serum drops make my Restasis work better,” Harwood says. “Dr. Tauber, and this program, have been absolutely life-changing for me.”

Dr. Tauber immediately suspected Harwood’s severe dry eye was caused by Sjogren’s disease, an autoimmune disorder in which the body attacks its own moisture-producing glands. Sjogren's is one of the most prevalent autoimmune disorders, striking as many as 4 million Americans. Nine out of 10 patients are women. The average age of onset is late 40s, although Sjogren's occurs in all age groups in both women and men.