Are lipid-based products more effective for treating dry eye disease?

New treatments for dry eye disease that deliver lipids to the ocular surface are designed to more closely mimic the important tear film lipid layer at the air-water interface in the eye. The range and effectiveness of lipid-based products to treat dry eye disease, including liposome lid sprays, emulsion eye drops, lipid nanoparticles, and lipid-drug conjugates are examined in a new Review article published in Journal of Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

In the article entitled "Relevance of Lipid-Based Products in the Management of Dry Eye Disease," Jean-Sébastien Garrigue and Mourad Amrane, Santen SAS (Evry, France), Marie-Odile Faure, Scientific Consulting For You (Paris, France), Juha Holopainen, University of Helsinki (Finland), and Louis Tong, Singapore Eye Research Institute, describe the favorable tolerability profile of lipid-based therapies. Lipid-based products offer advantages compared to water-based artificial tears. Not only can they provide immediate relief of symptoms, but they may also improve the structure and stability of the tear film lipid layer.

"This is a thorough and timely review addressing an emerging treatment modality for the painful disease of dry eye," says Editor-in-Chief W. Daniel Stamer, PhD, Joseph A. C. Wadsworth Professor of Ophthalmology and Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC.