An innovative treatment Offers Hope to millions suffering from dry eye disease.

Dry eye syndrome occurs when your eyes fail to produce a sufficient quantity of tears for lubrication, or when the tears that are produced are functionally deficient. This can lead to a feeling of discomfort in your eyes, and in certain situations, it may even result in visual disturbances.

It is common — it affects around 7% or 16.4 million Americans every year.

Symptoms may include stinging and burning sensations, inflammation, blurred vision, and increased sensitivity to light. Severe instances can inflict harm to the surface of the eye if not properly managed. Traditional forms of treatment typically include the use of eye drops, gels, or ointments.

Research carried out by a team from the Baylor College of Medicine has discovered that administering a widely available probiotic bacteria orally showed promising signs of mitigating the severity of dry eye disease in animal testing. This research was showcased at the 2023 annual conference of the American Society for Microbiology, known as ASM Microbe.

This innovative therapy method engages bacteria found in the gut.

Dry Eye Probiotic Treatment

“The ‘friendly’ bacteria that live in the human gastrointestinal tract have been linked to health and protection against disease in many parts of the body, including the gut, brain and lung,” adds author Laura Schaefer.

“It’s therefore not surprising that the gut microbiome also has effects on our eyes.”

This research team’s prior investigations revealed that mice implanted with gut bacteria from Sjögren syndrome patients with severe dry eye experienced exacerbated eye diseases in dry environments, in contrast to those with gut bacteria from healthy individuals. This indicates that gut bacteria from healthy individuals could serve a protective role for the eye’s surface in dry situations. Therefore, one potential treatment pathway for dry eye could involve the use of probiotic bacteria with similar defense mechanisms.

To examine this hypothesis, the research team used an orally delivered probiotic bacteria, Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM17938, in a mouse model of dry eye. DSM17938, a human-derived, commercially available probiotic bacteria, has proven protective effects in the gut and immune system in both human and mouse studies, but its implications in eye health remain unexplored.

The experiment began with treating the mice with antibiotics, wiping out many of their gut’s beneficial bacteria. These mice were then exposed to arid conditions and received daily doses of either probiotic bacteria or a saline solution as a control. Post five days, the mice’s eyes were scrutinized for any signs of disease.

The group that was administered the probiotic bacteria showcased healthier corneal surfaces, with greater integrity. Moreover, these mice had an increased presence of goblet cells – specialized cells that secrete mucin, a vital component in tears, in their eye tissue. Collectively, these results point to the potential of the appropriate oral probiotic as a viable treatment strategy for dry eye symptoms.

The study was conducted by Laura Schaefer, Robert Britton, Steven Pflugfelder, and Cintia de Paiva, under the supervision of Dr. Cintia de Paiva in the Department of Ophthalmology at Baylor College of Medicine. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Research to Prevent Blindness Foundation.

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