Ocular Rosacea Defined By The American Academy of Ophthalmology

Rosacea (pronounced rose-AY-shah) is a chronic disease that affects both the skin and the eyelids.
People with rosacea affecting their skin may flush easily and have redness and/or acne-like symptoms on their nose, cheeks, chin or forehead.

People who have ocular rosacea (involving the eye) may have:
Red or bloodshot eyes
Burning or tearing
Sensation of foreign material or sand in the eye An infection (not contagious) of the eyelids also can occur and may cause redness and swelling on the lids and at the base of the eyelashes.

More than half of people with rosacea affecting their skin have some symptoms of ocular rosacea. However, some people may have ocular rosacea without showing any skin symptoms.

Approximately 13 million people in the United States have rosacea. It usually occurs in adults (especially women) between the ages of 30 and 60. Although people of any skin color can develop rosacea, it tends to occur most frequently in people with fair skin.

How Is Ocular Rosacea Treated?
Ocular symptoms usually are treated with oral antibiotics, such as tetracycline or doxycycline, or with prescription eyedrops or ointments containing steroids. Artificial tear-type saline solutions can help to relieve some of the symptoms of ocular rosacea by keeping eyes well moisturized. Some people, however, should avoid using eyedrops specifically meant for clearing up bloodshot eyes, as these eventually can make ocular rosacea symptoms worse.

Doctors recommend that people who develop eyelid infections with rosacea should practice good lid hygiene regularly. Patients should scrub their eyelids very gently with baby shampoo mixed with water or use a recommended eyelid-cleaning product. They also should apply warm cloths or pads to their eyes several times a day.

Ocular rosacea, on occasion, may affect eyesight if it is left untreated. Once ocular rosacea is treated and controlled, a patient's condition generally improves.

© July 2004 American Academy of Ophthalmology

Antibiotic Treats Lymphoma Of The Eye

The common antibiotic doxycycline effectively treats a type of lymphoma associated with chlamydia infection, according to a study in the October 4 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Ocular adnexal lymphoma of the MALT-type (OAL) is a kind of cancer of the eyelids and related tissues. It is not often fatal, but its symptoms can compromise a patient's quality of life. Some research has suggested an association between OAL and infection with the bacteria Chlamydia psittaci.

Andres J. M. Ferreri, M.D., of the San Raffaele H Scientific Institute in Milan, Italy, and colleagues examined whether doxycycline was an effective treatment for OAL. They gave 27 OAL patients a 3-week course of doxycycline therapy, whether they were positive or negative for chlamydia. They looked for tumor progression every 6 months.

The authors found that doxycycline treatment caused lymphoma to regress in both patients who did not test positive for the disease and those who did. They suggest that doxycycline may be a useful therapy even in patients where other treatments have failed, and it is a valid alternative to chemotherapy and radiation without causing the same toxic side-effects. Patients treated with doxycycline had a 66% rate of disease-free survival.

"Our prospective trial revealed that doxycycline is a fast, safe, and active treatment for OAL, both at initial diagnosis and at relapse," the authors write.

In an accompanying editorial, Emanuel Zucca, M.D., and Francesco Bertoni, M.D., of the Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland, write, "While doxycycline appears to be an easy-to-implement therapeutic approach, we strongly encourage all physicians to enroll patients in clinical prospective trials to help answer these questions."

Article: Ferreri AJM, Ponzoni M, Guidoboni M, Resti AG, Politi LS, Cortelazzo S, et al. Bacteria-eradicating therapy with doxycycline in ocular adnexal MALT lymphoma: a multicenter prospective trial. J Natl Cancer Inst 2006;98:1375-1382.

Editorial: Zucca E, Bertoni F. Chlamydia, or not Chlamydia, that is the question: which is the micro-organism associated with MALT lymphomas of the ocular adnexa? J Natl Cancer Inst 2006;98:1348-1349.

Note: The Journal of the National Cancer Institute is published by Oxford University Press and is not affiliated with the National Cancer Institute. Attribution to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute is requested in all news coverage. Visit the Journal online at http://jncicancerspectrum.oxfordjournals.org/.