Topical omega-3 fatty acids eyedrops in the treatment of dry eye and ocular surface disease: a systematic review
Dry eye is a common inflammatory condition of the ocular surface. While oral omega-3 supplementation for its treatment has been extensively studied, recent large-scale studies have cast doubt on their efficacy. However, efficacy of topical omega-3 has yet to be reviewed. We performed a systematic se...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2023
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/171010 |
| _version_ | 1824455037448880128 |
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| author | Paik, Benjamin Tong, Louis |
| author2 | Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) |
| author_facet | Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) Paik, Benjamin Tong, Louis |
| author_sort | Paik, Benjamin |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Dry eye is a common inflammatory condition of the ocular surface. While oral omega-3 supplementation for its treatment has been extensively studied, recent large-scale studies have cast doubt on their efficacy. However, efficacy of topical omega-3 has yet to be reviewed. We performed a systematic search of PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases for all studies evaluating topical omega-3 in dry eye. Five human and five animal studies were included. Of the five human studies, two were on dry eye disease (DED), one was on contact lens discomfort, and two were on patients undergoing corneal collagen crosslinking. In humans, there is promising evidence for improved ocular surface staining and tear break-up time compared to controls, equivocal evidence for improvements to ocular surface symptoms and meibomian gland dysfunction, and no effect on increasing tear production. Data from animal models largely agree with these findings, and further reveal decreased inflammatory cytokines and monocyte infiltration. Our review suggests that topical omega-3 is a promising treatment for dry eye, but also points to the paucity of evidence in this field. Further trials in humans are required to characterize effects of topical omega-3 and optimize its dosage. |
| first_indexed | 2025-02-19T03:31:50Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/171010 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-02-19T03:31:50Z |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1710102023-10-15T15:38:47Z Topical omega-3 fatty acids eyedrops in the treatment of dry eye and ocular surface disease: a systematic review Paik, Benjamin Tong, Louis Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) Science::Medicine Dry Eye Ocular Surface Dry eye is a common inflammatory condition of the ocular surface. While oral omega-3 supplementation for its treatment has been extensively studied, recent large-scale studies have cast doubt on their efficacy. However, efficacy of topical omega-3 has yet to be reviewed. We performed a systematic search of PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases for all studies evaluating topical omega-3 in dry eye. Five human and five animal studies were included. Of the five human studies, two were on dry eye disease (DED), one was on contact lens discomfort, and two were on patients undergoing corneal collagen crosslinking. In humans, there is promising evidence for improved ocular surface staining and tear break-up time compared to controls, equivocal evidence for improvements to ocular surface symptoms and meibomian gland dysfunction, and no effect on increasing tear production. Data from animal models largely agree with these findings, and further reveal decreased inflammatory cytokines and monocyte infiltration. Our review suggests that topical omega-3 is a promising treatment for dry eye, but also points to the paucity of evidence in this field. Further trials in humans are required to characterize effects of topical omega-3 and optimize its dosage. National Medical Research Council (NMRC) Published version This work is funded with grant NMRC/CSA/017/2017. 2023-10-10T04:55:15Z 2023-10-10T04:55:15Z 2022 Journal Article Paik, B. & Tong, L. (2022). Topical omega-3 fatty acids eyedrops in the treatment of dry eye and ocular surface disease: a systematic review. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23(21), 13156-. https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms232113156 1661-6596 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/171010 10.3390/ijms232113156 36361942 2-s2.0-85141575088 21 23 13156 en NMRC/CSA/017/2017 International Journal of Molecular Sciences © 2022 The authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Science::Medicine Dry Eye Ocular Surface Paik, Benjamin Tong, Louis Topical omega-3 fatty acids eyedrops in the treatment of dry eye and ocular surface disease: a systematic review |
| title | Topical omega-3 fatty acids eyedrops in the treatment of dry eye and ocular surface disease: a systematic review |
| title_full | Topical omega-3 fatty acids eyedrops in the treatment of dry eye and ocular surface disease: a systematic review |
| title_fullStr | Topical omega-3 fatty acids eyedrops in the treatment of dry eye and ocular surface disease: a systematic review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Topical omega-3 fatty acids eyedrops in the treatment of dry eye and ocular surface disease: a systematic review |
| title_short | Topical omega-3 fatty acids eyedrops in the treatment of dry eye and ocular surface disease: a systematic review |
| title_sort | topical omega 3 fatty acids eyedrops in the treatment of dry eye and ocular surface disease a systematic review |
| topic | Science::Medicine Dry Eye Ocular Surface |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/171010 |
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