Content area
Full text
Received Feb 28, 2017; Revised Sep 22, 2017; Accepted Sep 27, 2017
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
1. Introduction
Dry eye disease is one of the most common ophthalmic pathologies that results in symptoms of discomfort, visual disturbance, and tear instability with potential damage to the ocular surface [1]. Moreover, dry eye disease is a chronic ocular disorder affecting about 14.5% of the world’s population including 17.9% of women and 10.5% of men, and the prevalence continues to rise [2]. The pathology of this condition involves inflammation of the ocular surface, in which T cells are highly involved [3, 4]. However, the pathogenesis of the disease has not yet been fully elucidated.
Recently, it was recognized that oxidative stress plays a notable role in dry eye disease [5–8]. Oxidative stress is caused by an imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the ability of biological systems’ defense mechanisms necessary to eliminate the stress [9]. Excessive oxidative stress is associated with ocular surface epithelial damage, as well as with a decrease in the secretory function of the lacrimal gland [10]. The damaged epithelial cells then release cytokines and cause ocular surface inflammation, resulting in dry eye disease [11].
A variety of antioxidative treatments, such as omega-3 essential fatty acids, blueberry component, xanthan gum, oral sea buckthorn oil, and green tea polyphenols, has been shown to prevent or...