Omega-3 supplement for dry eye
A pilot study by researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas,TX reported patients with dry eye taking an omega-3 supplement had a self-reported reduction in their dry eye symptoms and an increase in tear volume and tear flow compared with a group of controls who received a placebo.
A total of 36 patients with dry eye completed this prospective, randomized, double-masked study. Participants underwent testing at the initial visit and again 90 days later at the final visit. They either took a daily supplement of fish oil (containing 450 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid, 300 mg of docosahexaenoic acid, and 1,000 mg of flaxseed oil) or a placebo then scored their symptoms on the Ocular Surface Disease Index(OSDI).
After 90 days, 70% of the patients in the study who took the omega-3 supplement reported having no symptoms of dry eye, compared with 7% of the patients in the placebo group. The average tear production and tear volume was increased in the omega-3 group, however, no significant differences were found in meibum lipid composition or aqueous tear evaporation rate between the two groups.
Dr. James McCulley, the study’s principal investigator, said that this study provided interesting insight into the effects of supplementation on dry eye disease, and that more research should be done to understand fully how omega-3 [fatty acids] work on a cellular level.
You can read more about this study at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21045648