Dr Alex Hui, Adjunct Associate Professor at the UNSW School of Optometry and Vision Science, has detailed the emerging pipeline of dry eye therapies with “important clinical potential”, in the latest Contact Lens Update online report.
Contact Lens Update, developed by the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) in Canada in 2011, is published six times a year and provides eyecare professionals across the globe with clinical insights grounded in current research for free.
Issue 77 of the online report has been dedicated to the accelerating clinical interest about new, innovative treatments for dry eye disease.
In the report, Dr Alex Hui – who is also head of biosciences at CORE – said dry eyes affect millions of people across the world and significantly impacts their lives.
“Our growing understanding of this complex condition has led to the development of multiple new medications – both approved for sale and undergoing trials – that we believe have important clinical potential,” he said.
“In primary eyecare settings, dry eye is encountered daily. These additional treatments, targeting different aspects of the disease, will offer practitioners more options to incorporate into their prescribing arsenal and help patients better manage the condition.”
In the editorial, Dr Hui provided an overview of recently approved treatments such as a short-term corticosteroid to treat acute periods of worsened dry eye, a preservative-free ophthalmic solution that slows tear evaporation, and investigational products that either target inflammation or stimulate receptors on the ocular surface to increase the production of tears.
The Contact Lens Update feature article, authored by Professor Etty Bitton, summarised findings of a systematic review and meta-analysis that investigated the efficacy and safety of a novel nasal spray to manage dry eye.
Furthermore, the clinical insight column details a case report of a patient’s experience with dry eye and management with a recently approved ophthalmic solution to treat Demodex blepharitis.
Finally, the abstract summarises a presentation from the American Academy of Optometry 2023 annual meeting, detailing a phase two clinical trial that investigated the use of a new topical ointment to treat meibomian gland dysfunction.
ContactLensUpdate.com features a complete archive of back issues, a resource library that provides free professional tools, patient resources, images and video, complimentary technical training videos produced by International Association of Contact Lens Educators, and an industry glossary.
Industry professionals can access the latest issue directly from ContactLensUpdate.com or sign up for email receipt of future issues.
More reading
The Save Sight Institute Dry Eye Registry: Building the ‘big’ picture of dry eye
Re-writing the rules of dry eye management
Dr Rolando Toyos – Challenging dry eye dogma
