Journal article

Omega-3 supplementation is neuroprotective to corneal nerves in dry eye disease: a pilot study

HR Chinnery, C Naranjo Golborne, LE Downie

Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics | WILEY | Published : 2017

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate whether oral, long-chain omega-3 (ω-3) essential fatty acid (EFA) supplementation, for 3 months, induces changes to the central corneal sub-basal nerve plexus in dry eye disease and whether nerve alterations correlate with clinical findings. Methods: This prospective, comparative study involved the final 12 participants enrolled in a randomised, double-masked, placebo-controlled clinical trial of 60 participants with moderate dry eye disease. Participants received either placebo (olive oil 1500 mg/day; n = 4) or ω-3 EFA supplements (~1000 mg/day eicosapentaenoic acid + ~500 mg/day docosahexaenoic acid; n = 8) for 90 days. The main outcome measure was the mean change i..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Awarded by National Health and Medical Research Council


Funding Acknowledgements

Anne Gad, Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, The University of Melbourne, collected some of the corneal confocal images used for this study. Laura Deinema, Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, The University of Melbourne, collected some of the clinical data in this study. This study was funded by a grant from the Rebecca L Cooper Medical Foundation (LED, 2015), ANZ Medical Research and Technology Trust grant (LED, 2015) and NHMRC project grant APP1042612 (HRC). The sponsors had no role in the design or conduct of this research.