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High doses of fatty acids for treating severe dry eye disease
Author(s) -
GEORGIOU T,
NICOLAOU D,
NEOKLEOUS A,
MICHAEL S,
IKONOMU C
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2013.s003.x
Subject(s) - medicine , staining , ophthalmology , fluorescein , fluorescent staining , visual acuity , disease , dry eyes , pathology , physics , quantum mechanics , fluorescence
Purpose To evaluate the effect of high doses EPA/DHA for the treatment of severe dry eye disease not responding to current treatments. Methods 60 eyes (30 patients) with severe dry eyes not responding to current treatments were treated with 5g/day of EPA/DHA. Visual acuity, corneal fluorescein staining, tear break up time (TBUT) and subjective symptoms were noted. Results 70% of patients used more than 5 treatment approaches before starting EPA/DHA. 83% of patients started with severe corneal fluorescein staining and 17% had moderate staining. At 3 months 44% had no staining and 55% had mild staining. TBUT improved from mean 1.78sec to 4.40sec at 3 months. There was substantial improvement (>50%) on subjective symptoms at 6 weeks of treatment. Conclusion High doses of fatty acids can be used to improve the signs and symptoms of patients with severe dry eye disease not responding to current treatments.