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NovaTears improves objective, subjective markers of dry eye disease
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NovaTears reduces corneal staining and increases Schirmer I and tear film break-up time in those with dry eye disease, according to a study in the Journal of Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
Steven and colleagues studied 30 patients with mild to moderate evaporative dry eye disease (DED) from two clinical care centers in Germany. The patients applied one drop of perfluorohexyloctane, or F6H8 (NovaTears, Novaliq), four times daily in both eyes for 6 weeks.
Researchers evaluated best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure, Schirmer I test, tear fluid osmolarity, tear film break-up time (TFBUT), corneal staining and meibum secretion at baseline and after 6 weeks of follow-up. In addition, patients completed the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire.
BCVA and IOP did not change over the 6 weeks, which highlights the non-blurring character of the compound, according to researchers. With the Schirmer I, the right eye improved from 10.5±4.1 at baseline to 16.6±9.8 at follow-up, with the left eye having similar improvement. TFBUT increased in the right eye from 6.0±2.5 to 8.8±4.9 and in the left eye from 5.8±2.6 to 9.6±5.9.
Corneal staining improved greatly after treatment. At baseline, grade 0 staining was present in the right eyes of six patients and left eyes of five patients, and grade 1 staining was present in 14 right eyes and 15 left eyes. At follow-up, grade 0 increased to 21 right eyes and 16 left eyes and grade 1 in two right eyes and eight left eyes, according to the study.
Researchers found a mean OSDI decrease in severity from 55 to 34, which indicated a decrease in subjective symptoms. Five adverse events were reported and were deemed mild to moderate, the researchers said.
A total of 18 out of 28 patients were satisfied or very satisfied with F6H8, 20 of 29 patients described a pleasant or very pleasant sensation after the first application, and 21 of 29 patients would continue the treatment if possible, the researchers wrote. They also reported that semifluorinated alkane eye drops may be used with anti-inflammatory drugs such as cyclosporine A.
“By this, beneficial effects regarding tear film stability and the ocular surface integrity may be combined with anti-inflammatory T cell-inhibiting properties,” the researchers concluded. – by Abigail Sutton
Disclosure: Steven received grants from Novaliq GmbH; please see the full study for all remaining authors’ financial disclosures.
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