Treatment of Dry Eye Disease.

OBJECTIVE: Review of the etiology, clinical manifestations, and treatment of dry eye disease (DED). DATA SOURCES: Articles indexed in PubMed (National Library of Medicine), Iowa Drug Information Service (IDIS), and the Cochrane Reviews and Trials in the last 10 years using the key words "dry eye disease," "dry eye syndrome," "dry eye and treatment." Primary sources were used to locate additional resources. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: Sixty-eight publications were reviewed, and criteria supporting the primary objective were used to identify useful resources. DATA SYNTHESIS: The literature included practice guidelines, book chapters, review articles, original research articles, and product prescribing information for the etiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment of DED. CONCLUSION: DED is one of the most common ophthalmic disorders. Signs and symptoms of DED vary by patient, but may include ocular irritation, redness, itching, photosensitivity, visual blurring, mucous discharge, and decreased tear meniscus or break-up time. Symptoms improve with treatment, but the condition is not completely curable. Treatment includes reducing environmental causes, discontinuing medications that cause or worsen dry eye, and managing contributing ocular or systemic conditions. Most patients use nonprescription tear substitutes, and if these are not sufficient, other treatment is prescribed. These treatments include the ophthalmic anti-inflammatory agent cyclosporine, punctal occlusion, eye side shields, systemic cholinergic agents, and autologous serum tears. This article reviews the etiology, symptoms, and current therapy for DED.

Prevention and treatment of age-related macular degeneration: an update for pharmacists.

OBJECTIVE: Review the current recommendations for the prevention and treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). DATA SOURCES: Articles indexed in PubMed (National Library of Medicine), the Cochrane Reviews and Trials, Dynamed, and Iowa Drug Information Service (IDIS) in the last 10 years using the key words macular degeneration, agerelated macular degeneration (AMD), AMD and treatment, AMD and prevention. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: Sixty-nine published papers were reviewed, and criteria supporting the primary objective were used to identify useful resources. DATA SYNTHESIS: The literature included practice guidelines, original research articles, review articles, product prescribing information, and supplement product information for the prevention and treatment of AMD. CONCLUSION: AMD is a leading cause of visual impairment in older adults. At present there is no cure for advanced AMD, but intravitreal vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors minimize and even reverse vision loss in patients with AMD of the neovascular type. In the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS), participants with intermediate AMD who received a supplement combination of vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, and zinc had a greater delay in progression to advanced AMD than those participants who received a portion of these supplements. In the second AREDS, AREDS2, the addition of lutein + zeaxanthin, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) + eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), or lutein + zeaxanthin and DHA + EPA to the complete AREDS formulation did not further reduce the risk of progression to advanced AMD. Subgroup analyses indicated that additional research with lutein + zeaxanthin supplementation is warranted as it was beneficial in participants with low dietary intake of lutein + zeaxanthin. A formulation without beta-carotene may be best for most patients, especially smokers or former smokers. Health care professionals will want to consider patient-specific information before recommending ocular health supplements.