ABSTRACT
Background: To evaluate the effects of 10% GlicoPro tear substitute therapy in patients with severe dry eye disease (DED). Methods: In this prospective longitudinal study, 30 individuals receiving 10% GlicoPro four times daily for DED were evaluated. The ocular surface disease index (OSDI) questionnaire, average non-invasive break-up time (A-NIBUT), non-anesthetic and anesthetic corneal esthesiometry (CE), ocular pain, and the presence of conjunctivochalasis (CCH) were used as clinical endpoints. Treatment compliance using dosing diaries and AEs was assessed. Results: A significant improvement was observed in the clinical endpoints: the ΔOSDI questionnaire was -39.27 ± 13.22 [-65 to -15] points, ΔA-NIBUT was 3.10 ± 1.31 [1 to 5] s, Δnon-anesthetic CE was 14 ± 6.35 [5 to 25] mm, and Δanesthetic CE was 13 ± 5.35 [5 to 20] mm (p < 0.001 for all comparisons). Ocular pain was reduced in 92.5% of the patients at the end of the follow-up. However, there was no change in the presence of CCH. In addition, all the patients were fully compliant with the dosing and no AEs related to the use of the 10% GlicoPro tear substitute were reported. Conclusions: The 10% GlicoPro tear substitute has the potential to achieve beneficial effects in ocular surface treatments.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: We aimed to evaluate the effects of 0.3% carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) tear substitute treatment in dry eye disease (DED), as well as treatment compliance and adverse events (AEs). METHODS: In this prospective, longitudinal study, a total of 30 eyes receiving 0.3% CMC tear substitute four times daily for DED were evaluated. Clinical endpoints included an ocular surface disease index (OSDI) questionnaire, average non-invasive tear film break-up time (A-NIBUT), lipid layer thickness (LLT), and a Schirmer test with anesthesia (ST). Treatment compliance and AEs were also assessed. All evaluations were performed at 2, 4, and 12 weeks of follow-up. RESULTS: At the end of the follow-up, significant improvement was observed in all clinical endpoints with the following mean values: ΔOSDI questionnaire of -22.53 ± 14.68 points, ΔA-NIBUT of 4.81 ± 2.88 s, ΔLLT of 5.63 ± 6.53 nm, and ΔST of 2.8 ± 2.1 mm (p < 0.001 for all comparisons). Although repeated measures analysis showed that all clinical endpoints presented statistically significant differences (p < 0.001 for all comparisons LLTBaseline-LLT2-weeks (p = 0.460) and LLT4-weeks-LLT12-weeks (p = 0.071) were the only pairs of measures that reported non-statistically significant differences). In addition, treatment compliance was 94.3 ± 5.2% and transient AEs related to the use of 0.3% CMC tear substitute were reported. CONCLUSIONS: 0.3% CMC tear substitute treatment seems to achieve beneficial effects on the OSDI questionnaire, A-NIBUT, LLT, and ST. However, further studies at this concentration are needed to confirm these results.
ABSTRACT
AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the goblet cell density (GCD) of conjunctiva in medically-controlled glaucoma using laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-five glaucomatous patients were enrolled and divided into two groups: Group 1 (27 eyes), controlled with one medication; and group 2 (28 eyes), controlled with two medications. Seventeen patients with dry eye disease (DED) and 17 healthy individuals served as controls. Patients completed the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire and underwent determination of tear film break-up time (BUT), corneal staining, and Schirmer test I. For the GCD assessment, 12 high-quality images were acquired from the upper conjunctival epithelium (superior nasal, superior central, and superior temporal sectors). RESULTS: Overall, GCD was significantly reduced in both glaucoma groups and those with DED compared to healthy controls (p<0.001), with values markedly lower in group 2 compared to group 1 (p<0.05). GCD was not significantly different between those with DED and group 2. A significant negative correlation was found of GCD with OSDI and with BUT (p<0.001; R=-0.795 and R=-0.756, respectively). CONCLUSION: Glaucoma therapy leads to a marked reduction of GCs, especially in the associative regimens. Given the negative correlation with tear film function tests, GCD reduction may play a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of the glaucoma-related disease of the ocular surface.