Promising results from TheraTears Nutrition pilot trial in dry eye patients

Jan 25 2011

Advanced Vision Research, Inc. today announced the publication in the journal Cornea of promising results from a pilot trial of dry eye patients taking TheraTears® Nutrition. The study demonstrated a reduction in dry eye symptoms and an increase in tear volume and tear flow for those patients taking TheraTears® Nutrition, an optimized blend of medical grade essential omega-3 oils, including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and flaxseed oil.  Symptomatic dry eye patients received the omega-3 supplement and 70% reported having no symptoms of dry eye after 90 days, as measured by a validated test called the Ocular Surface Disease Index.  In the placebo group, only 7% had a complete reduction of symptoms.  The study also demonstrated that supplementation with TheraTears® Nutrition, when compared to placebo, resulted in 0.10 microliters/min higher tear flow and 0.94 microliters higher tear volume, two objective parameters key to the improvement of disease in patients with dry eye.  

"This study demonstrates the potential of TheraTears® Nutrition in reducing the debilitating effects of dry eye from both the patient and physician perspective," said James P. McCulley, senior author of the Cornea article and Professor and Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, TX. "It is particularly interesting to see these clinical results, since we know that omega-3s have been shown to reduce the effects of inflammation and influence the composition of the tear film, two factors that play an important role in dry eye.  While this provides interesting insight into the effects of supplementation on dry eye disease, more research should be done to fully understand how these omega-3s work on a cellular level."