Skip to content

Spanish research group suggest mucin biomarkers provide a valuable clinical tool in dry eye syndrome

A research team, based at the University of Valladolid in Spain, has proposed using gene expression levels of an ocular surface protein as a diagnostic marker for the diagnosis of dry eye syndrome (DES). The research, published in the journal of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (Vol. 52, No.11, pp8363-8369) reports on a retrospective study, conducted between 2000-2009, on almost 70 patients with dry eye syndrome. Expression levels of several “mucins”- high molecular weight proteins found on the ocular surface – showed significantly lower levels of activity in patients with DES compare to age and sex-matched control subjects. However, as such observations may be viewed as reflecting “laws of nature”, it is uncertain whether or not such discoveries can secure patent protection critical to delivering such a product to market.