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Emerging treatment options for meibomian gland dysfunction

Authors Qiao J, Yan X, Rong B

Received 29 May 2013

Accepted for publication 17 July 2013

Published 9 September 2013 Volume 2013:7 Pages 1797—1803

DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/OPTH.S33182

Checked for plagiarism Yes

Review by Single anonymous peer review

Peer reviewer comments 3



Jing Qiao, Xiaoming Yan

Department of Ophthalmology, Peking University First Hospital, Key Laboratory of Vision Loss and Restoration, Ministry of Education, Beijing, People's Republic of China

Abstract: Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) is one of the most common diseases observed in clinics; it influences a great number of people, and is the leading cause of evaporative dry eye. Given the increased recognition of the importance of MGD, a great amount of attention has been paid to therapies targeting this condition. The traditional treatments of MGD consist of warm compresses and lid hygiene for removing an obstructed meibum, as well as antibiotics and anti-inflammatory agents to improve the quality of the meibum. However, each of these treatments has a different shortcoming and the treatment of MGD remains challenging. Despite the numerous possible treatment options for MGD, it is still difficult to obtain complete relief of signs and symptoms. This review focuses on current emerging treatment options for MGD including intraductal meibomian gland probing, emulsion eye drops containing lipids, the LipiFlow® thermal pulsation system, N-acetyl-cysteine, azithromycin, oral supplementation with omega-3 essential fatty acids, and cyclosporine A.

Keywords: meibomian gland dysfunction, dry eye, emerging treatment

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