Effect of Hypotonic 0.4% Hyaluronic Acid Drops in Dry Eye Patients: A Cross-Over Study

Effect of Hypotonic 0.4% Hyaluronic Acid Drops in Dry Eye Patients: A cross-over study

Article Specifications

This cross-over, randomized, balanced, single-blind was published in 2008 in Journal of cornea and external disease (IF 2017:2.010) by Italian ophthalmologists. In this study the short-term effects of 2 type of hyaluronic acid eye drop with different osmolarity on patients with dry eye syndromes were examined. 28 people divided in 2 groups: group A (made up of 14 subjects) were administered unpreserved 0.4% hyaluronic acid eye drops 300 mOsm/L 4 times a day for a week, and group B (similarly made up of 14 subjects) were administered unpreserved 0.4% hyaluronic acid eye drops 150 mOsm/L 4 times a day for a week. After one day wash out, patients in group A were administrated group B treatment and vice versa.

Results

At the beginning of the treatment, all patients showed a remarkable improvement of symptoms. After the cross-over, patients previously treated with hypotonic solution showed a mild worsening of symptoms, some patients previously treated with isotonic solution reported a further improvement after passing to the hypotonic solution treatment. So, By reducing the osmolarity of tear film, the hypotonic solution not only improves the characteristics of tear film and the vitality of the epithelial cells of the cornea and conjunctiva but also proves to be effective in reducing dry eye symptoms.