Retaine shown to improve signs, symptoms of dry eye

Forty-two patients in a single-center, open-label study showed improvements in fluorescein staining as well as reductions in dryness, grittiness and discomfort after 2 weeks of using Retaine ophthalmic emulsion, researchers reported in Clinical Ophthalmology.

Ousler and colleagues conducted two evaluations of patients who received one to two drops daily of Retaine (OcuSoft) during a 2-week period. Patients completed a symptomatology diary twice daily before instilling the drops until the morning of the second visit. The clinicians also assessed ocular signs and symptoms, visual acuity and comfort at the two visits.

According to the study, researchers saw a statistically significant reduction in mean break-up area on the second visit between the pre-dose and post-dose times. Subjects also had significantly less corneal fluorescein staining in all regions compared to the first visit. Also on the second visit, the Ora Calibra Ocular Discomfort and 4-Sympton Questionnaire measured statistically significant reductions in dryness, grittiness, ocular discomfort and all symptoms.

Study subjects also reported a statistically significant improvement in their ability to work on a computer at night.

“The data presented herein indicate a therapeutic effect of Retaine on the signs and symptoms of dry eye after 2 weeks of treatment, as well as an immediate-onset transient improvement in tear film stability,” the researchers concluded.

 Marguerite McDonald, MD, commented on the study in a press release from OcuSoft. “Achieving statistically significant improvements in both signs and symptoms is extremely challenging, as evidenced by the high number of clinical trials involving therapy for dry eye,” she said. “The reduction in central corneal staining is especially important from a clinical perspective, as the central cornea is critical to visual function.”

OcuSoft stated in the press release that Retaine is available for purchase through eye care professionals nationwide and Walgreens. – by Nancy Hemphill, ELS, FAAO

Disclosures: Ciolino is a consultant for Ora Inc. and is supported by a Career Development Award from Research to Prevent Blindness Inc. and the National Eye Institute 1K08EY019686-01. Devries and Karpecki are consultants for OcuSoft. Ousler is an employee of Ora Inc.