Development of the 4-3-2-1 Meibum Expressibility Scale and Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation and Dry Eye

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Meadows, Jillian Faith
Language:English
Published: The Ohio State University / OhioLINK 2011
Subjects:
Online Access:http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1312343001
id ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-osu1312343001
record_format oai_dc
spelling ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-osu13123430012021-08-03T06:03:32Z Development of the 4-3-2-1 Meibum Expressibility Scale and Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation and Dry Eye Meadows, Jillian Faith Ophthalmology dry eye meibomian gland dysfunction omega-3 fatty acids <p>OBJECTIVES: Dry eye disease and meibomian gland dysfunction are both prevalent conditions that lead to alterations of the tear film and consequent ocular surface damage. Despite the increased interest in the assessment of both of these conditions, there still remains a deficit in simple, clinically applicable grading scales for meibomian gland expression and effective therapeutic management options for dry eye disease. Therefore, two distinct studies with overlapping designs were executed to (1) develop a clinical grading scale for the assessment of meibomian gland expressibility and to (2) evaluate the efficacy of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-masked, pilot study of dry eye disease.</p><p>METHODS: A meibum expressibility scale was developed using a new standardized meibomian gland expression device, which provides constant pressure along the inferior lid. For the scale development, 30 patients (52.5 ± 12.4 years; 93.33% female) with mild to moderate dry eye were compared to 13 normal, non-dry eye subjects (25.6 ± 4.3 years; 46.1% female). The device was placed 4 glands lateral to the inferior punctum and 1 mm below the inferior lash line and held stable for 15 seconds, such that the glands expressing meibum were then counted. The weighted kappa statistic was used to evaluate the extent of agreement between visits in the normal sample, and a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was created to test the proposed scale. The same 30 dry eye patients were then randomized to either omega-3 fatty acid supplementation or soybean oil (placebo) and followed at 4-week intervals for 8 weeks. Outcome variables were tear osmolarity, OSDI score, SANDE analog values, and artificial tear reliance. </p><p>RESULTS: For the meibum expressibility scale, the mean number of glands that expressed from the worse lid in the normal group was 3.54 ± 1.61, while 1.53 ± 1.28 glands expressed in the dry eye group. In the dry eye group, one subject showed 5 glands expressing, and 29 had scores of 4 or less. In the normal group, 11 of 13 patients expressed from 3 or more glands. In the omega-3 study, there were no detectable associations with any of the clinical variables in the treatment arm. The placebo group trended toward improvement in osmolarity (worse eye), OSDI (baseline versus 8 weeks), SANDE values (at 4 weeks and 8 weeks), and tear reliance (at 8 weeks).</p><p>CONCLUSION: A 4-3-2-1 meibomian gland scoring system is proposed, whereby 4+=normal expressibility, 3=mildly reduced expressibility, 2=moderately reduced expressibility, and 1 or 0=severely reduced expressibility. Further validation of the scale is warranted. For the study assessing omega-3 fatty acid supplementation, there was little to no observed therapeutic benefit of omega-3s in this sample of dry eye patients. Further, soybean oil seems to lack the inert qualities of an appropriate placebo in a clinical trial of dry eye disease. Additional studies that incorporate a proper dosage, an adequate placebo, and omega fatty acid dietary consumption in their study designs are necessary to determine the therapeutic value of omega-3s in the management of dry eye disease.</p> 2011-09-26 English text The Ohio State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1312343001 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1312343001 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.
collection NDLTD
language English
sources NDLTD
topic Ophthalmology
dry eye
meibomian gland dysfunction
omega-3 fatty acids
spellingShingle Ophthalmology
dry eye
meibomian gland dysfunction
omega-3 fatty acids
Meadows, Jillian Faith
Development of the 4-3-2-1 Meibum Expressibility Scale and Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation and Dry Eye
author Meadows, Jillian Faith
author_facet Meadows, Jillian Faith
author_sort Meadows, Jillian Faith
title Development of the 4-3-2-1 Meibum Expressibility Scale and Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation and Dry Eye
title_short Development of the 4-3-2-1 Meibum Expressibility Scale and Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation and Dry Eye
title_full Development of the 4-3-2-1 Meibum Expressibility Scale and Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation and Dry Eye
title_fullStr Development of the 4-3-2-1 Meibum Expressibility Scale and Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation and Dry Eye
title_full_unstemmed Development of the 4-3-2-1 Meibum Expressibility Scale and Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation and Dry Eye
title_sort development of the 4-3-2-1 meibum expressibility scale and omega-3 fatty acid supplementation and dry eye
publisher The Ohio State University / OhioLINK
publishDate 2011
url http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1312343001
work_keys_str_mv AT meadowsjillianfaith developmentofthe4321meibumexpressibilityscaleandomega3fattyacidsupplementationanddryeye
_version_ 1719430142682464256