Novel treatment aimed at dry eye
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A novel method that stimulates the metabolic processes and natural regeneration of cells treats dry eye disease safely and comfortably, according to one specialist.
“It is safe and easy; the patient sits comfortably for 20 minutes and just feels a gentle warmth on the eyes. Four sessions, once a week, are the complete course of the treatment, but the benefits are already experienced after the first session,” Brendan Cronin, MBBS (Hons), GradDipOphthSc, FRANZCO, an ophthalmologist practicing at the Queensland Eye Institute in Brisbane, Australia, told Ocular Surgery News.
Rexon-Eye (Resono Ophthalmic), which is CE marked in Europe, is a noninvasive treatment based on Quantum Molecular Resonance (QMR) technology, which delivers to the ocular surface weak alternate electric current patterns at a frequency of 4 MHz to 64 MHz to stimulate the natural regeneration of cells.
QMR has been previously used for healing chronic extremity wounds. Although the overall mechanism of action is still under investigation, recent studies suggest that the therapeutic effect may be due to the activation of intracytoplasmic calcium-dependent pathways and increased expression of genes involved in extracellular matrix remodeling and embryogenesis, leading to tissue regeneration.
“The treatment stimulates the cells to regain the natural inner balance. I tell my patients that the tissue of their ocular surface is disordered, it is not functioning well, and that we are going to try to rejuvenate it and make it function better,” Cronin said.
The treatment is delivered by contact electrodes built in a mask, the size of ski goggles, worn by the patient over closed eyes.
When turned on, the device delivers a 30-second application first to one eye and then the other, alternating between the two for a duration of 20 minutes.
“The patients feel just a gentle pressure on their eyes and a pleasant feeling of warmth. I sit my patients on a massage chair, adding an extra treat to the session,” Cronin said.
Addressing all forms of DED
The treatment addresses evaporative and aqueous deficient forms of dry eye, as well as post-LASIK patients with dry eye symptoms.
“There is a subset of dry eye diseases, which includes post-LASIK, post-cataract and neuropathic dry eye, in which this technology could be a real breakthrough,” Cronin said.
Corneal hyperalgesia may be another application.
“I am thinking of doing it in all my cataract patients before they undergo surgery to see if I can stimulate recovery and help avoid dry eye postoperatively,” Cronin said.
Combination therapy
“DED is multifactorial, increasingly frequent and often difficult to treat. I have used Rexon-Eye in about 100 patients so far, and many were difficult cases, not responding to other treatments,” he said.
Different treatment modalities can be combined for best results in some cases. In patients with facial rosacea and meibomian gland dysfunction, intense pulsed light may be used together with Rexon-Eye to address the multiple mechanisms of action that are at play. It can also be combined with drops.
The treatment is currently not reimbursed in Australia, but Cronin has found the demand to be high.
- References:
- Fraccalvieri M, et al. Int Wound J. 2017;doi:10.1111/iwj.12805.
- Sella S, et al. PLoS One. 2018;doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0190082.
- For more information:
- Brendan Cronin, MBBS (Hons), GradDipOphthSc, FRANZCO, can be reached at Queensland Eye Institute, Level 4, 140 Melbourne St., South Brisbane QLD 4101, Australia; email: brendan.cronin@qei.org.au.
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