What is it about?
Dry Eye Disease is a leading cause of visual disability. Plugging the tear duct is a common treatment to improve ocular moisture by increasing a patient's natural tears. Current plug designs have flaws leading to potential problems such as irritation or infection. Hyaluronic acid is native to all mammals, so the hyaluronic acid gel plug occludes the tear duct in a safe and non reactive fashion. Using a hyaluronic acid (HA) gel to block the tear duct is a new and novel method to occlude to tear duct in a safe, effective and reversible way.
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Why is it important?
The hyaluronic acid gel plug is a new and potentially improved way to block the tear duct. The effects last at least 3 months and are reversible. This gel is similar to the gels already FDA approved for use as facial fillers, so there is a long standing safety profile with the hyaluronic acid products.
Perspectives
I believe the hyaluronic acid gel plug has the potential to help tens of millions of patients suffering from dry eye disease. The plug is easy to place in the physician's office and takes less than 5 minutes. Patients tolerate the process well. The HA plug is natural to the body, non-immunogenic, long lasting and reversible. HA also has the ability to carry nanoparticles for drug delivery for medicines such as antibiotics, steroids, glaucoma therapy, macular degeneration and many more.
John FEzza
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Cross-linked hyaluronic acid gel occlusive device for the treatment of dry eye syndrome, Clinical Ophthalmology, November 2018, Dove Medical Press,
DOI: 10.2147/opth.s187963.
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