Thermomechanical Skin Treatment Improves Dry Eye Signs and Symptoms

A non ablative, thermomechanical skin treatment demonstrates efficacy for improving dry eye disease (DED) signs and symptoms without producing adverse events, according to a study published in Contact Lens & Anterior Eye. 

Researchers enrolled 74 participants (77% women; mean age, 59.3 years) with periorbital wrinkles and moderate to severe DED in a prospective, controlled, open-labeled, 2-center study. Study participants underwent a baseline evaluation followed by 3 thermomechanical skin treatments at 2-week intervals each before attending a 3-month follow-up visit. The research team evaluated DED signs and symptoms using non invasive tear breakup time (NIBUT) and Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) scores, respectively, and monitored vision and intraocular pressure (IOP) changes. 

Participants’ OSDI scores and NIBUT revealed improvements in DED symptoms and signs at the 30-day study conclusion. Patients’ OSDI decreased by a score of 21.40 (P <.001). NIBUT improved by 2.10 seconds (P <.001) in 1 of the study sites while improving by 6.60 seconds (P <.001) at the other site. 

No adverse events accompanied these improvements, according to the report. Participants did not experience any significant changes in vision (P =.310) or IOP (P =.419) during the investigation.

The study authors highlight the treatment’s ability to provide efficacious results within a 3-month period. 

“These results appear to show at least comparable, and in many cases, superior results to other commercially available DED treatments and management regimes, making it a highly attractive treatment for DED,” according to the researchers.

Study limitations include a high loss to follow up, different methods of obtaining NIBUT between the 2 centers, the lack of a control group, and failure to assess corneal staining or meibomian gland dysfunction.

Disclosure: This research was supported by Novoxel. Some study authors declared affiliations with biotech, pharmaceutical, and/or device companies. Please see the original reference for a full list of authors’ disclosures.