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Amniotic cytokine extract drops may be efficient therapy for dry eye
The drops aid ocular surface repair in patients with dry eye disease.
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Amniotic cytokine extract eye drops for the treatment of dry eye disease preserved key anti-inflammatory molecules needed to treat ocular surface inflammation and improved total corneal staining scores and dry eye scores, according to a study.
Despite the specific mechanism of action being unknown, amniotic cytokine extract (ACE) eye drops are a novel therapy for the treatment of dry eye disease, OSN Cornea/External Disease Board Member Preeya K. Gupta, MD, said.
“Any patient with dry eye is a candidate. In our study, most patients had moderate or worse dry eye disease. There is no insurance coverage for this, so cost may be a rate-limiting factor,” Gupta said.
Effective treatment
Gupta and colleagues evaluated Genesis (Ocular Science) in a retrospective chart review of 43 patients of seven U.S. clinicians who treated symptomatic dry eye disease with the ACE drops.
Each drop contains more than 120 active cytokines, growth factors and anti-inflammatory molecules for the treatment of dry eye disease. The drops can retain the activity of the anti-inflammatory cytokines that are thought to help with dry eye disease and its symptoms, Gupta said.
The drops preserve prostaglandin E2, which promotes wound healing; growth differentiation factor 11, which promotes inflammation modulation; and thrombospondin-1, which modulates white blood cells as well as dendritic cells that stimulate T-cell proliferation, according to Gupta.
All patients in the study received one ACE drop twice daily for 4 weeks. Visual acuity, conjunctival and corneal staining scores, and eye dryness score were evaluated at baseline and 4 weeks after treatment.
Improved scores
The study eye for each patient was defined as the eye with the highest total corneal staining score at baseline. At baseline, the mean total corneal staining score of the cohort was 7.2, the total conjunctival staining score was 6.3, and the eye dryness/irritation score was 68.
The mean eye dryness score, the mean total corneal staining score and the mean total conjunctival score all improved statistically significantly at 4 weeks (all P < .05). The mean eye dryness score improved to 41.4, the mean total corneal staining score improved to 3.2, and the mean total conjunctival staining score improved to 5.1.
Overall, 81% of patients experienced improvement in visual analog scale (VAS) scores from baseline, and 70% of patients experienced at least a 50% improvement in mean total corneal staining scores, Gupta said.
The ACE drops were effective in reducing dry eye symptoms and improving ocular surface staining. – by Robert Linnehan
- Reference:
- Gupta PK. Clinical outcomes of amniotic cytokine extract in the treatment of dry eye disease. Presented at: American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting; Nov. 11-14, 2017; New Orleans.
- For more information:
- Preeya K. Gupta, MD, can be reached at Duke Eye Center, 4709 Creekstone Drive, Durham, NC 27703; email: preeya.gupta@duke.edu.
Disclosure: Gupta reports she is a consultant to Ocular Science.