Tear Film Markers in Dry Eye Syndrome

Dry eye is the most common reason for visit to an ophthalmologist's office. The prevalence is on the rise and is mainly attributed to factors such as increased environmental pollution and contact lens use. The current management options are limited to over the counter artificial tear drops and three FDA-approved drugs. Of these, cyclosporine has been used worldwide for treating mild to moderate dry eyes. The earlier version consisted of 0.05% cyclosporine which worked well for a limited number of inflammatory dry eye conditions. Recently, 0.09% cyclosporine was approved by the FDA. The nearly double concentration is expected to be more beneficial for severe inflammation which is often seen in Sjögren syndrome and other Rheumatological conditions associated with dry eyes. In this pilot project, the investigator proposes to evaluate the change in expression of SLURP1 and other markers of ocular surface inflammation before and after treatment with 0.09% cyclosporine eye drops.