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Efficacy of Cyclosporine a (Restasis) for the Treatment of Dry Eye Symptoms in the First 30 Days of Therapy

¹ Ophthalmology, Private Practice, Belgrade, MT
² Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA

Commercial Relationships: L.A. Herrygers, None; R. Noecker, Allergan C.

Support: None.

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of topical cyclosporine A (Restasis^®, Allergan) on patients’ daily dry eye symptoms in the first 30 days of use.

Methods: Patients (n=10) with a history of at least moderate dry eye symptoms and evidence of corneal staining were provided printed patient diary forms and asked to record their symptom severity daily for 30 days. Patients were queried as to how the cyclosporine A drops felt upon instillation, if their eyes felt better than when they started the drops, and how many times they thought about their eyes each day. Patients were also asked to rate, on a scale of 1 to 5 (where 5 = dry eyes greatly impact my activity and 1= dry eyes don’t impact my activity) how their dry eye impacted their work, outdoor activities, ability/desire to watch TV, ability/desire to use a computer, ability/desire to read, and ability to drive a car.

Results: Overall, 30 days of cyclosporine A therapy improved patient quality of life scores in 5 of the 6 measurements. Patient scores improved for working, outdoor activities, watching TV, reading, and driving. The improvement in ability/desire to participate in outdoor activities achieved statistical significance at days 9, 12, and 13 (P<.035). Most patients (67%) reported that their eyes felt better after 30 days of cyclosporine A than before starting treatment and 60% found cyclosporine A to be soothing or only minimally stinging.

Conclusions: Cyclosporine A is an effective therapy for the relief of patient dry eye symptoms. Moreover, patients reported improvement in symptoms after only 30 days of therapy, suggesting that cyclosporine A provides a faster onset of symptom relief than previously reported.

Keywords: cyclosporine • cornea: tears/tear film/dry eye

© 2005, The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc., all rights reserved. For permission to reproduce any part of this abstract, contact the ARVO Office at arvo{at}arvo.org.