Abstract
Dry eye disease (DED) is a common disease, and have an adverse effect the physical, functional, and psychological quality of life. It is a multifactorial disorder characterized by the loss of tear film homeostasis, in which self-perpetuating vicious cycle leads to deterioration of function and inflammation of the lacrimal functional unit. Hence, treatment strategies should be aimed at the interruption of the vicious inflammatory cycle and alleviation of ocular surface inflammation. Anti-inflammatory therapies have been shown to improve the signs and symptoms of the disease. Evidence indicates that polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may contribute to reinforcement of innate anti-inflammatory mechanisms, and systemic and topical administration of PUFAs may help modulate ocular surface inflammation. In the present review, the authors will introduce the results of clinical and experimental studies to elucidate the mechanism, efficacy, and safety of systemic and topical supplementation with PUFAs as an alternative therapeutic strategy for DED. This review will also include discussion regarding current perspectives, including evidence-based recommendations and possible side effects of PUFAs supplementation. The review of the literature suggests that PUFAs supplementation can be a viable option for the treatment of DED, although further studies are needed for establishment of treatment guidelines.
Highlights
Dry eye disease (DED) is a multifactorial ocular surface disorder characterized by the loss of tear film homeostasis, i.e., hyperosmolarity and instability of tear film [1]
Previous studies have shown that oral and topical administration of omega-3 (ω3) and omega-6 (ω6) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) can decrease the concentrations of inflammatory mediators associated with DED, improve dry eye symptoms, restore tear film homeostasis, and facilitate corneal nerve regeneration, suggesting that supplementation with these PUFAs can be alternative treatment for DED [15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26]
These results suggest that PUFAs may modulate ocular surface inflammation, which might be protective against DED [42]
Summary
Dry eye disease (DED) is a multifactorial ocular surface disorder characterized by the loss of tear film homeostasis, i.e., hyperosmolarity and instability of tear film [1]. Previous studies have shown that oral and topical administration of omega-3 (ω3) and omega-6 (ω6) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) can decrease the concentrations of inflammatory mediators associated with DED, improve dry eye symptoms, restore tear film homeostasis, and facilitate corneal nerve regeneration, suggesting that supplementation with these PUFAs can be alternative treatment for DED [15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26]. We aim to introduce the studies regarding the influences of ω3 and ω6 PUFAs on DED and discuss the potential underlying mechanisms of PUFAs in the treatment of the disease
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