Study Shows Progress for Patients with MGD and Dry Eye
A Single LipiFlow Treatment Demonstrates Sustained Improvement in Gland Function and Symptoms in Patients with MGD and Dry Eye
TearScience announced the publication of a seminal prospective, multicenter clinical trial showing that a single LipiFlow treatment can deliver sustained mean improvement in meibomian gland function and dry eye symptoms through 12 months. The study also concluded that early LipiFlow intervention for meibomian gland dysfunction is associated with improved treatment outcomes, according to a company news release.
The mean improvement of meibomian gland function and dry eye symptoms have been frequently studied, documented and reviewed. What is novel about this study is that the effect of a single LipiFlow treatment was monitored and, on average, sustained through the 12-month study period.
At 12 months, 86% of patients had received only a single LipiFlow treatment and did not require additional prescription therapy for dry eye symptoms. “The sustained results shown in this study are evidence that LipiFlow’s inner-lid heat with combined vectored pulsation is uniquely effective. LipiFlow provides long-term improvement in meibomian gland function and dry eye symptoms. Whether alone or complemented with other prescription interventions, LipiFlow optimizes outcomes for dry eye sufferers,” Joseph Boorady, CEO of TearScience, said in the news release.
“Because MGD is chronic and progressive, it has long been suspected that early intervention is likely to yield increased benefits,” Edward J. Holland, MD, a study investigator and author of the publication, said in the news release. “Our study findings strongly suggest that screening for MGD and treating underlying gland dysfunction is an appropriate protocol for all patients, even in the absence of dry eye symptoms.”
All device-related adverse events were anticipated, transient, nonserious ocular events that resolved without sequelae. The type and rate of nonserious and transient adverse events related to the LipiFlow System in the study were consistent with prior studies.
The study, “The sustained effect (12 months) of a single-dose vectored thermal pulsation procedure for meibomian gland dysfunction and evaporative dry eye,” was published in Clinical Ophthalmology.