Evaluation of Blink Tears and Systane Concomitant With Restasis for the Treatment of Dry Eye Symptoms

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of Blink Tears and Systane used concomitantly with topical cyclosporine for the treatment of dry eye.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Dry Eye Syndrome
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Cyclosporin A Restasis®; Drug: Blink tears; Drug: Systane

Detailed Description

Dry eye is a chronic condition that is believed to afflict more than 3 million patients in the United States.1 Symptoms of dry eye are very bothersome and impact quality of life, reduce work capacity, and may result in poorer psychological health. Also, symptoms of dry eye are associated with a decreased ability to perform activities that require visual attention such as reading and driving a car.2 Patients with dry eye complain most frequently of a scratchy or sandy (foreign body) sensation. Other common symptoms are itching, excessive mucus secretion, inability to produce tears, a burning sensation, photosensitivity, redness, pain, and difficulty in moving the lids. In most patients, the most remarkable feature of the eye examination is the grossly normal appearance of the eye.3 Chronic dry eye disease is associated with an inflammatory mechanism mediated by activated T-cell lymphocytes3 which affects the ocular surface and lacrimal gland.4 The damage caused by dry eye disease may be irreversible, and despite the availability of various tear substitutes, many patients with dry eye syndrome experience corneal injuries with a subsequent reduction in vision.5 Cyclosporin A (Restasis®, Allergan, Irvine, CA) has been shown to significantly reduce the number of activated T-lymphocytes within the conjunctiva6, thereby minimizing the inflammation causing dry eye. Topical cyclosporin A 0.05% ophthalmic emulsion (Restasis®, Allergan, Irvine, CA) increases tear production and improves the quality of naturally produced tears and is the first approved therapeutic agent for the treatment of chronic dry eye and the only treatment modality that addresses the underlying pathology.

In addition to topical therapy with cyclosporine, some patients continue to use artificial tears for occasional relief of residual symptoms. The choice of concomitant tear is important but little research has been published differentiating between the efficacy of these solutions when used concomitantly with topical cyclosporine.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 20
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • South Carolina
    • Charleston, South Carolina, United States, 29425
      • Medical University of South Carolina, Storm Eye Institute

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 16 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Subject must have dry eye.
2. Age: 18 years and older.
3. Males or females
4. Up to grade 3 conjunctival staining.
5. Score of no more than 4 on the Subjective Evaluation of Symptoms of Dryness (SESOD) at screening.
6. Currently using Restasis to treat dry eye syndrome (at least for 3 months prior to enrollment).
7. Willing and able to comply with scheduled visits and other study procedures.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Prior unsuccessful use of topical cyclosporine (defined as patients taking it at least 3 months without improvement.
2. Known contraindications to any study medication or ingredients.
3. Planned use of contact lenses (unless discontinued use more than 30 days prior to randomization.
4. Contact lens use during the active treatment portion of the trial.
5. Active ocular allergies.
6. Ocular surgery within the past 3 months.
7. Any concurrent infectious/non infectious conjunctivitis, keratitis or uveitis.
8. Active ocular diseases or uncontrolled systemic disease (blepharitis patients that are actively being treated or disease that is uncontrollable.
9. Pregnant or nursing mothers and females of childbearing potential not practicing a reliable and medically acceptable method of birth control.
10. Participation in (or current participation) any investigational drug or device trial.
11. Conjuctival staining grade 4.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Systane	Drug: Cyclosporin A Restasis®; Drug: Systane; systane to be used twice a day
Experimental: Blink Tears	Drug: Cyclosporin A Restasis®; Drug: Blink tears; blink tears to be used twice a day

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Schirmer's Scores	The Schirmer score is a score on a scale - minimum is 0 and the highest is 35 mm. Above 15 mm is normal and less than 5 is severe dry eyes. A positive score means there was an improvement, 0 will be no change from baseline and a negative one that there was a decreased in tears. This change was calculated by subtracting the baseline value from the 3 months value (3 mo Schirmer's - baseline Schirmer's = amount of change).	baseline to 3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Medical University of South Carolina
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Kerry D. Solomon, MD, Medical University of South Carolina, Storm Eye Institute

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: October 1, 2007
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 1, 2008
• Study Completion (Actual): October 1, 2008

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 29, 2007
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 29, 2007
• First Posted (Estimate): November 30, 2007

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 7, 2018
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 9, 2018
• Last Verified: October 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Treatment; Dry Eye
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Eye Diseases; Lacrimal Apparatus Diseases; Keratoconjunctivitis; Conjunctivitis; Conjunctival Diseases; Keratitis; Corneal Diseases; Dry Eye Syndromes; Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Anti-Infective Agents; Enzyme Inhibitors; Antirheumatic Agents; Immunosuppressive Agents; Immunologic Factors; Dermatologic Agents; Antifungal Agents; Calcineurin Inhibitors; Cyclosporine; Cyclosporins
• Other Study ID Numbers: SEI-07-003