Vagge Aldo, Bonino Michele, Rolando Maurizio, Macrì Angelo, Traverso Carlo E, Iester Michele
1Clinica Oculistica, DiNOGMI, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
2Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino IST, Genova, Italy.
J Ocul Pharmacol Ther. 2015 Jun;31(5):286-90. doi: 10.1089/jop.2014.0131. Epub 2015 May 14.
To evaluate whether a tear substitute can improve corneal subepithelial nerve plexus and corneal sensitivity in glaucomatous patients.
This study was prospective, longitudinal, and single arm. Twenty glaucomatous patients were recruited. All the patients were treated with a prostaglandin analog with preservative for at least 1 year. Preservative-free artificial tears (0.5% tamarind seed polysaccharide 0.5(®) eye drops single-dose preservative free [Oftagen]) were prescribed thrice per day. The participants were subjected to clinical and instrumental evaluation at baseline (T0), after 1 month (T1) and after 3 months (T3) of treatment. All patients were examined with a digital corneal confocal laser-scanning microscope (HRT II Rostock Cornea Module; Heidelberg Engineering GmbH) and Cochet-Bonnet corneal esthesiometer.
After the artificial substitute, corneal and conjunctival sensitivity significantly (P < 0.001) improved at T1 and T3 compared to the baseline. A significant correlation was found between break-up time and both central corneal sensitivity and the number of fibers.
The use of a preservative-free artificial substitute in association with a topical therapy with chronic preservative could increase the compliance of patients.
