Effectiveness of Topical Cyclosporin-A 0.1% Compared to Combined Topical Cyclosporin-A 0.1% with Topical Sodium Hyaluronate on Interleukin-6 Levels in the Tears of Patients with Dry Eye Disease

• Published in: Vision (Basel) Vol. 7; no. 2; p. 31
• Main Authors: Priani, Desti, Muhiddin, Habibah S, Sirajuddin, Junaedi, Eka, Hasnah B, Bahar, Burhanuddin, Bukhari, Agussalim
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 03.04.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Comparative analysis; Cornea; cyclosporin-A; Cytokines; dry eye; Eye diseases; Health aspects; Hyaluronic acid; Interleukin 6; Interleukins; Pathogenesis; Patients; Sodium; Sodium hyaluronate; sodium-hyaluronic; Statistical analysis; Tears; Test methods; Therapeutic targets; Tofacitinib; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Indonesia; sodium-hyaluronic; dry eye; interleukin-6; cyclosporin-A
• ISSN: 2411-5150; 2411-5150
• DOI: 10.3390/vision7020031

Pro-inflammatory cytokines are important contributors to dry eye disease (DED). The cytokine interleukin (IL)-6 has become a therapeutic target in several DED drug studies. This randomized controlled trial aimed to determine the effectiveness of topical cyclosporin-A 0.1% compared to the combination of topical cyclosporin-A 0.1% and sodium hyaluronate in reducing tear IL-6 levels in DED patients. The participants were 20 patients, each with two eyes, who had moderate-to-severe DED. Before and after treatment, the clinical degree of DED was examined in each group, using ocular surface disease index (OSDI) scores, tear break-up time (TBUT), fluorescent tests, and Schirmer I tests. In addition, tear samples were taken to examine IL-6 levels through the ELISA method. The results were analyzed using the -test, Wilcoxon test, and Mann-Whitney test. The correlation between tear IL-6 levels and the severity of DED was analyzed using the Spearman correlation test. The study showed a significantly lower tear IL-6 level, OSDI score, and degree of ocular staining after either topical cyclosporin-A 0.1% or a combination of topical cyclosporin-A 0.1% and sodium hyaluronate (all values < 0.05). The combination therapy was superior in reducing tear IL-6 levels. In addition, a correlation existed between tear IL-6 levels and the severity of DED based on the TBUT, although it was weak and not statistically significant.