Anti‐inflammatory effects of thealoz duo eye drops on the ocular surface of dry eye patients

Aims/Purpose: Dry eye syndrome (DES) is a complex pathological condition of the ocular surface characterized by a disturbance of tear film due to lack of tears or excessive tear evaporation. Topical application of medicated eye drops has been shown to be an effective treatment for this disease. In a previous study, Thealoz® Duo eye drops (Laboratoires Thea, France) were demonstrated to significantly enhance vision‐related functions and to inhibit inflammation in patients with DES. The objective of this study was to provide further insight into the efficacy of Thealoz® Duo eye drops by analyzing the expression profiles of marker proteins in the tears of dry eye patients using microarray technology.

Methods: A total of 58 candidates were divided into two groups: those with dry eye (DES, N = 35) and those with healthy eyes (CTRL, N = 23). Thealoz® Duo (hyaluronic acid 0.15% and trehalose 3%) was administered only to the DES patients. Tear samples were collected from each individual in both groups at three distinct time points: prior to treatment (day 0, designated T1), on day 28 ± 4 (T2) and on day 56 ± 4 (T3) following the administration of Thealoz® Duo. Thereafter, all samples underwent analysis of the expression of targeted proteins (e.g., APOA1, S100A8, TNFa, FBP1, IL2, IL8, IL17A, IL1RN, SERPINA1 and MMP9) using microarray technology.

Results: The data analysis revealed a significant increase in all maker proteins in DES vs. CTRL at T1 (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the data demonstrated that the application of Thealoz® Duo resulted in a decrease in the expression of inflammatory markers in DES vs. CTRL at T2 and T3.

Conclusions: The present findings provide further evidence supporting the potential of Thealoz® Duo to improve the visual outcomes by mitigating the inflammation on the ocular surface in patients with DES.