People suffering from dry eye disease have only seen the symptoms getting treated over these years. But now, they may see a ray of hope with the findings of a new study, conducted by the Schepens Eye Research Institute at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary of the Department of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA.
Dry Eye Disease results when the eyes are not able to produce tears properly or when the tears get evaporated too quickly. Researchers have discovered a type of cells that are believed to induce inflammation, which in turn, shares a responsibility for causing the dry eye disease. These cells, termed as the natural killer or NK cells provide an inborn immunity to the eyes.
The study was conducted on mice which were divided into two groups. The mice in the first group were allowed to stay normal while those in the second group were depleted of the NK cells. Then, the mice in both the groups were induced with the dry eye condition.
A greater degree of severity came to be observed in the mice which were allowed to stay normal in comparison to the ones who were depleted of the natural killer cells. The findings suggest that these cells play a critical role in the severity and the development of the dry eye disease.
So far, treatments or medications have only been able to treat the symptoms. This discovery can now mark the development of medications which can target the cause rather than the symptoms. Researchers hope that the findings will help them to take a proactive approach so as to prevent the development of the condition in the very first place.
