- Researchers used a mouse model to identify probiotic bacterial strains that help improve dry eye.
- Approximately 12% of the world’s population suffers from dry eye, a condition in which the eye fails to adequately self-lubricate.
- There is no cure for dry eye disease, but new research points the way to future treatments.
Dry eye is a common condition in which the eye does not produce enough
in fact,
Although there is currently no cure for dry eye disease, there are many treatments that can help treat the condition.
These treatments include over-the-counter eye drops and prescription drugs.
Now, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, have used a mouse model to identify a probiotic strain of bacteria that can help improve dry eye.
this research was recently announced in ASM Microbiology 2023Annual Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.
Although we may associate crying tears, healthy eyes produce tears all the time.
When a person blinks, these tears flow.
In some cases, a person’s eyes cannot produce enough natural tears, causing dry eye disease. This can happen for various reasons such as:
Symptoms of dry eye disease include:
Undiagnosed and untreated, dry eye can lead to eye infections and potential damage to the ocular surface.
In addition to medical treatment of dry eye, previous research has shown that dietary changes may help combat dry eye symptoms.
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according to Dr. Laura SchaeferAs an assistant professor of molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and the lead author of the study, he said finding new treatments for dry eye is important.
“Despite the prevalence of dry eye in the United States (approximately 1 in 20), there are currently only a handful of drugs available to treat dry eye, and for some patients, these drugs are symptomatic. It doesn’t do much for improvement,” she said. medical news today.
Dr. Schaefer said she and her team decided to focus on looking at probiotic strains of bacteria in the gut to treat dry eye.
“We did some experiments with gut bacteria isolated from Sjögren’s syndrome patients with severe dry eye and from healthy patients without eye disease,” she elaborated. . “Mice colonized with gut bacteria from Sjögren patients develop more severe dry eye under dry conditions than mice colonized with gut bacteria from healthy patients.”
“This suggests that gut bacteria in healthy individuals protect the ocular surface under dry conditions. Therefore, one possible treatment for dry eye is to provide similar protection. It is thought to be an effective probiotic bacterium,” added Dr. Schaefer.
For this study, Dr. Schaefer and her team utilized a mouse model of dry eye. First, the mice were given antibiotics to kill the “good” bacteria in their gut. Next, they are exposed to very dry conditions, probiotic bacterial strains,
Five days later, scientists found that the corneal surfaces of mice fed the probiotic strain of bacteria were healthier and more intact than those fed saline.
In addition, mice fed probiotic bacteria also had increased amounts of probiotics.
“Our hypothesis was that probiotics would protect our eyes, and we were thrilled to prove that to be true,” Dr. Schaefer said. “This particular probiotic strain, DSM17938, has been well studied and has been shown to reduce inflammation in other tissues, especially the intestine, and improve intestinal barrier function. It has never been evaluated.”
“These findings show that anti-inflammatory bacteria in the gut can also reduce inflammatory conditions in the eye. The gut is known to feed on the “good” bacteria that live in the gut, and the anti-inflammatory effects of these bacteria in the gut may extend to other tissues in the body. Including the eyes. ”
– Dr. Laura Schaefer, lead study author
MNT also talked to Dr. Benjamin BartAn ophthalmologist at Memorial Care Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California, said of the study in which he was not involved.
“It was indeed a very interesting study to confirm the multiple factors involved in both our understanding of dry eye and our ability to treat dry eye in the future,” he commented.
We have seen before taking supplements, such as omega-3 supplements. [was] It has been shown to be beneficial in treating certain types of dry eye patients. It is therefore interesting to look more closely at the gut microbiome as a potential therapeutic point,” added Dr Bart.
As for the next steps in the study, he said that since this was done in a mouse model, human studies would be needed.
“It will be very interesting to see this used as a supplement in human trials to really prove their hypothesis that this is a significant benefit or treatment that can be used for dry eye patients,” he said. added.
