Clinical Effect of Cyclosporine 0.05% Eye Drops in Dry Eye Syndrome Patients

Yong Soo Byun; Eun Jeong Jeon; Sung Kun Chung

doi:10.3341/jkos.2008.49.10.1583

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Soo Byun, Jeon, and Chung: Clinical Effect of Cyclosporine 0.05% Eye Drops in Dry Eye Syndrome Patients

Original Article

J Korean Ophthalmol Soc 2008;49(10):1583-1588.

Published online: 7 September 2008

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3341/jkos.2008.49.10.1583

Clinical Effect of Cyclosporine 0.05% Eye Drops in Dry Eye Syndrome Patients

Yong Soo Byun, M.D, Eun Jeong Jeon, M.D., Ph.D., Sung Kun Chung, M.D., Ph.D.

Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, St. Mary’s Hospital, The College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea

Address reprint requests to Sung Kun Chung, M.D., Ph.D. Department of Ophthalmology, St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea #62 Yeouido-dong, Youngdungpo-gu, Seoul 150-010, Korea Tel: 82-2-3779-1150, Fax: 82-2-761-6869, E-mail: eyedoc@catholic.ac.kr

Received 28 August 2008 Accepted 2 May 2008

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose

We conducted a study to evaluate the change of tear secretion and symptoms in the patients with dry eye syndrome after using Restasis^® (Cyclosporine 0.05% ophthalmic emulsion, Allergan Inc., U.S.A.).

Methods

We randomly selected 39 patients from newly or previously diagnosed dry eye syndrome patients and administered Restasis^® to them. We checked their clinical parameters and symptoms over a period of 3 months. The clinical parameters evaluated were type I and type II Schirmer tests and tear break-up time, and the symptoms of dry eye syndrome were classified into pain, itching, foreign body sensation, blurred vision, and photophobia using a scoring scale for symptoms of 0 to 5. The results were analyzed with a Mann-Whitney test ( P-values <0.05 was considered statistically significant).

Results

For 26 of 39 patients (52 eyes) on whom all tests were carried out for 3 months, there was a significant improvement after 3 months in the type I Schirmer test, type II Schirmer test, and tear break-up time ( P=0.012, 0.009, 0.001, respectively). Only 14 patients completed the questionnaire for scoring of symptoms. After using Restasis^®, foreign body sensation only improved ( P=0.010).

Conclusions

In our study, tear secretion was increased by Restasis^®, and a greater increase in tear secretion was seen in patients with systemic disease than in patients without systemic disease. Additional patients need to be evaluated and longer-term studies need to be performed to confirm our results.

Keywords: Cyclosporine, Dry eye syndrome, Restasis^®

References

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Figure 1.

Schirmer test and tear breakup time changes (Δ) from baseline measured at 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, respectively (n=52).

Figure 2.

Comparison of increase amount in Schirmer Test with or, without systemic disease (n : number of eyes).

Table 1.

Characteristics of study group at screening

Total number of group	n=39
Average of age (years)	45.67±14.19
Gender	Male:14 Female:25
History of ocular surgery	6
Systemic disease*	15
No. of patients using other artificial tear drops	28

^* bone marrow transplanted patient=8; Steven-Johnson syndrome=4; Systemic lupus erythematus=2; Sjögrene syndrome=1.

Table 2.

Schirmer test and tear breakup time during 3 months (n=52, Mann-Whitney test)

		First visit	After 1 month	After 2 months	After 3 months
Schirmer Test 1 (mm)	Average	10.00±7.23	10.35±5.44	10.44±6.12	12.67±7.11
	P value		0.531	0.776	0.012
Schirmer Test 2 (mm)	Average	7.00±4.88	8.60±4.68	8.10±4.55	9.48±5.30
	P value		0.103	0.284	0.009
BUT* (sec)	Average	6.30±2.31	6.75±2.12	6.83±1.98	7.29±1.95
	P value		0.227	0.055	0.001

^* Tear breakup time.

Table 3.

Symptom score of dry eye syndrome during 3 months (number of patient participating in Questionnaire=14, Mann-Whitney test)

Symptom Score*		First visit	After 1 month	After 2 months	After 3 months
Irritation	average	3.07	3.14	2.57	2.57
	P value		0.739	0.121	0.107
Itching	average	1.78	1.43	1.43	1.43
	P value		0.102	0.336	0.380
Foreign body sensation	average	3.00	2.26	2.20	2.16
	P value		0.024	0.028	0.010
Blurred vision	average	2.21	1.71	1.71	1.93
	P value		0.084	0.154	0.365
Photophobia	average	2.79	2.43	3.14	2.86
	P value		0.129	0.059	0.796

^* Score 0: no symptom; score 5; the most severe symptom so far.

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