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Adverse environmental conditions are a risk factor for ocular GvHD after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 55, pages 1851–1853 (2020)Cite this article

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Ocular graft-versus-host disease (oGvHD) is an inflammatory condition of the eye following allogeneic stem cell transplantation (aHSCT). It mainly affects the lacrimal functional unit leading to severe forms of dry eye disease [1]. oGvHD occurs in 60–90% of chronic GvHD patients [2]. Several risk factors for the development of oGvHD are described including chronic, systemic GvHD in multiple organs, and acute skin GvHD.

It is well known that adverse environmental conditions are a risk factor for dry eye disease nonrelated to oGvHD [3]. Constant desiccation of the ocular surface, e.g., due to air conditioning, is related to dry eye signs and symptoms [4]. The mainly autoreactive T-cell driven immunopathology was extensively studied using animal models [5, 6], and in human studies [7]. As aHSCT is performed under highly controlled environmental conditions, an influencing factor in developing dry eye disease in oGvHD is likely, however not investigated so far.

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Fig. 1: Influence of environmental conditions on ocular surface findings and later rate of chronic ocular GvHD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    P. Steven, C. Faust, V. Tahmaz, M. E. Stern & U. Gehlsen

  2. Division of Dry-Eye and Ocular GvHD, Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    P. Steven, V. Tahmaz, M. E. Stern & U. Gehlsen

  3. Department I of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    U. Holtick & C. Scheid

  4. ImmunEyez LLC, Irvine, CA, USA

    M. E. Stern

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  1. P. Steven
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  2. C. Faust
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Correspondence to P. Steven.

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Conflict of interest

CF, UH, CS, VT, and UG have nothing to disclose. MES is chief scientific officer of ImmunEyez LLC and member of the scientific advisory board of Novaliq. PS has received financial support from Novaliq GmbH, Roche, Bausch&Lomb, Ursapharm and honoraria from Santen. The Division of Dry-eye and Ocular GvHD received donations from Novaliq, Ursapharm and Juergen and Monika Ziehm.

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Steven, P., Faust, C., Holtick, U. et al. Adverse environmental conditions are a risk factor for ocular GvHD after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Bone Marrow Transplant 55, 1851–1853 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41409-020-0824-6

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