autologous serum: comparing different strengths

[Guest]

Just curious... have any of you compared different strengths of autologous serum, and if so, what was your experience?

For me, I was started on the 50% serum drops... had that for 2 months...

I just started using 100% serum drops yesterday.

So far, I like the 100% serum better... it is a little bit thicker feeling (reminds me of the Oasis Tears Plus), and seems to last longer.

Also, when I was using the 50% serum, I would often notice a very mild stinging 1/2 hour to an hour later... since it had been mixed with saline solution, I wondered if this might have been from a thin film of salt that later dried on my lashes... me eyes would overflow a bit, and then that salt would wash into my eyes causing a bit of stinging? Don't know if that is really the reason why... it's just a theory... Anyhow, with the 100% serum, I haven't experienced this even once so far.

I had come across a study several weeks ago which compared the efficacy of 20% vs. 50% vs. 100% serum.... (I can't for the life of me find it again... I've been trying, but no luck... it was on PubMed if I recall correctly) Anyhow, they found that the 20% serum group had the smallest number of patients who found improvement, whereas in the 100% serum group everyone (or almost everyone?) found improvement. The 50% serum group landed in the middle.

If anyone else happens to find it, I'd love it if you'd post a link to it... my doc had asked me about it, and I'd like to bring a copy of the abstract for him to check out at a future appt.

Anyhow, my purpose in posting this is just to put out there the possibility that if you've tried serum drops and found them to be inadequate, it might be worth trying a higher strength... it won't do any harm, and if helps, then that would be awesome!

[Ariel]

I was never informed of the fact serum drops can come in different strengths. I'm glad that you made us aware of it because the ones I just got very recently are not helping me at all and as you know they are not cheap. I was given 9 vials, so I'm guessing I got the 20% serum.

If someone could find the study you mentioned it would be very useful to me because it would allow me to present my case to the Vissum center where I got my serum. If it is unusual to make 100% serum I'm afraid I may not get it without giving them medical data to support my request.

I wonder how many people try the 20% serum and decide it's a waste of money without knowing they can get it in a stronger concentration!

[Guest]

I know! That's why I posted this! I've spent a couple hours already looking for that crazy study, and I just can't find it... I wish I could remember what search terms I used...

Same thing happened to me with the Canadian guidelines for dry eye... took me ages to find it the second time I was looking for it

Anyhow... hopefully me, you or someone else will be able to find it!

[Ariel]

SAAG,

I have been told at the center where I got my serum that they don't make it in 100% concentration. Another center in the UK told me the same thing so it seems like getting what I need is going to be difficult.

Ariel

[Aaron77]

My doctor has given me a prescription for 20% serum drops, will get the blood drawn tomorrow and pick the drops up the next day. I figure the doc should have given me the 50% at least, a 20-80 dilution does not sound too good.

SAAG if you ever find the study you had seen comparing %'s I'd really like to see it and pass it on to my doc. Thanks

[Guest]

I think the 20% dilution is the most common... apparently one of the first studies (Tsubota? Tsubotu?? was the author - you can find his studies on pub med if you're interested), found that there is this one particular growth factor that is present in blood serum at a 5 times higher concentration than that in natural tears... this particular growth factor can have some kind of negative effect on epithelial cells... can't remember exactly what other than the fact that as I read it, it didn't seem like it was necessarily the end of the world, so the author of the study suggested diluting the blood serum to make the concentration of that particular growth factor the same as what it is in normal tears.... Anyhow, there's a lot of interesting stuff on autologous serum that you can find on PUB MED if you feel like doing some extra reading

Anyhow, sorry to be so vague but I'd rather be vague and accurate, than give more precision and be wrong

Hopefully me or someone else will find that study comparing the various strengths of serum drops and post the link soon... I haven't had time to look lately... but eventually, hopefully I will find it.

Aaron, maybe IF you try the 20% for a couple of months and do not get adequate relief, maybe your doc would be open to having you try the higher concentration even without seeing the study?... luckily, that's how it worked out for me... maybe you'll have the same good luck with your doc!

[Ariel]

I received "Autologous platelet-rich plasma" which is not autologous serum.

Sazy123 also got it at the Vissum Center in Alicante and mentioned in another post that "PRP is 1000's times more concentrated with NGF's than normal Autologous serum drops".

When she says "normal Autologous serum drops" I don't know if she's referring to serum at 20, 50 or 100%. All I know is that after using de PRP for over two weeks I'm not seeing any significant results.

[Ariel]

SAAG,

Maybe this is the study you mentioned?

http://ukpmc.ac.uk/articles/PMC17723...01A9866F2.jvm1

[spmcc]

RE: 100% autologous serum

I just noticed this study (pubmed abstract): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20619713

[Ariel]

Interesting... We don't get it in single-dose vials in Spain. I wonder if people do in the UK or the US where autologous serum only gets made for the rich.

[irish eyes]

Here in the UK, we get autologous serum in single dose vials that must be kept frozen until ready for use - and discarded after 24 hours.

I think I have posted this link before to explain how it works.

http://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/tissueservic...ngle_pages.pdf

Patients don't get it automatically; it is expensive to produce and the NHS has to approve each case individually.

[Ariel]

air transportation of frozen serum

I have to get AS days before getting on a long flight to Japan where I may stay for a couple of months. I'm worried about it as all I can think of doing is placing the serum in a big ball of ice inside a cooler. Hope the airline doesn't have a problem with it!

[irish eyes]

Hi Chemia

Thanks for highlighting this article; I had actually read it before and of course felt highly indignant. (I can `do' mortification really well might I add - and this was one of those occasions. )

To anyone who is curious about this article - here is a flavour of it:

Autologous serum drops are a hideously expensive and complicated way to wet the eye. The cases where I have seen these used were with patients whose doctors had exhausted every available commercial drop and were at the end of their rope, due to patient dislike or intolerance for anything else. In these cases, the patients did not need autologous serum drops either, what they needed was a psychiatric consultation.

The nurses at the Blood Transfusion Centre (where I attend) are brilliant. They tell me that in spite of the procedure being expensive, the patients who `donate' blood for autologous serum make (their) work seem very worthwhile because they see the difference it makes to our quality of life. I'm one of them.

[irish eyes]

I have to get AS days before getting on a long flight to Japan where I may stay for a couple of months. I'm worried about it as all I can think of doing is placing the serum in a big ball of ice inside a cooler. Hope the airline doesn't have a problem with it!

Sorry to be negative Ariel

I hit a brick wall with this. This summer, we used the ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao and my serum drops were in a flask of ice. P & O were helpful in that they allowed me to store some in one of their freezers but it was only a small compartment. I cannot criticise them though, they did what they could.

I enquired with a number of airlines before we decided on the ferry and the answer was a firm no. This was in spite of being able to produce medical documentation.

I got the following information from:

http://www.airsafe.com/danger.htm

Dry Ice (frozen carbon dioxide): Up to four pounds (1.8 kg) may be carried on board for packing perishables providing the package is vented.

The answer was still no. I hope you have better luck but you need to plan well ahead.

[Ariel]

Irish Eyes-- Thanks for sharing your experience and including all the useful info. I may have to get the AS in Japan if I can arrange it. We'll see how it goes...