Case Control Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Sep 6, 2024; 12(25): 5665-5672
Published online Sep 6, 2024. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v12.i25.5665
Analyze interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α levels in dry eye and the therapeutic effect of cyclosporine A
Juan Wu, Gui-Jun Li, Jie Niu, Fei Wen, Li Han
Juan Wu, Gui-Jun Li, Jie Niu, Fei Wen, Li Han, Department of Ophthalmology, The First People’s Hospital of Xining, Xining 810000, Qinghai Province, China
Author contributions: Wu J conceived and designed the study; Li GJ collected the data; Niu J analyzed and interpreted the data; Wen F and Han L drafted the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki. The study received approval from the Ethics Committee of The First People’s Hospital of Xining, with approval number 2020-LLPJ-24.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardians, provided informed written consent prior to enrollment in the study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors report no relevant conflicts of interest related to this article.
Data sharing statement: Data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement—checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Juan Wu, MS, Chief Doctor, Department of Ophthalmology, The First People’s Hospital of Xining, No. 3 Huzhu Lane, Xining 810000, Qinghai Province, China. wujuan6842@163.com
Received: March 1, 2024
Revised: May 28, 2024
Accepted: June 28, 2024
Published online: September 6, 2024
Processing time: 137 Days and 14.6 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Dry eye is a common eye disease. Artificial tears supplements are widely used for the treatment of dry eyes. However, multiple adverse effects have been observed in patients receiving long-term treatment with artificial tears, which may affect the therapeutic effect.

AIM

To analyze the characteristics of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels in patients with dry eye and the therapeutic effect of artificial tears combined with cyclosporine A.

METHODS

A total of 124 dry eye patients treated at The First People’s Hospital of Xining from April 2020 to April 2022 were selected as the observation group, while 20 healthy individuals served as the control group during the same period. Levels of inflammatory markers, including IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α, were analyzed. The observation group was further divided into a study group and a control group, each consisting of 62 patients. The control group received artificial tears, whereas the study group received a combination of artificial tears and cyclosporine A. Inflammatory markers, Schirmer’s test (SIT), tear break-up time (TBUT), corneal fluorescein staining (CFS), National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire-25 (NEI-VFQ-25) scores, and adverse events (AEs) were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS

The observation group exhibited significantly elevated serum levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in comparison to the healthy group. Following treatment, the study group demonstrated substantial reductions in IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α levels relative to the control group. Moreover, after treatment, the study group experienced a marked decrease in CFS scores and significant increases in both SIT and BUT levels when compared to the control group. Additionally, significant improvements were observed in the primary symptom of dry eye and secondary symptoms such as photophobia, foreign body sensation, fatigue, red eye, and burning sensation within the study group. Furthermore, post-treatment NEI-VFQ-25 scores across all dimensions exhibited significant enhancements in the study group compared to the control group (P < 0.05). It is noteworthy that significant AEs were reported in both groups throughout the treatment period.

CONCLUSION

Cyclosporine A combined with artificial tears is effective in treating dry eye, yielding enhanced outcomes by improving SIT and TBUT levels, reducing CFS scores, and ameliorating vision-related quality of life.

Keywords: Artificial tears; Dry eye syndrome; Cyclosporine; Eye inflammation; Interleukin-1β; Interleukin-6; Tumor necrosis factor-α; Cyclosporine A

Core Tip: Few studies have explored the expression of inflammatory factors in dry eye disease and the impact of cyclosporine A on these factors. This study confirmed that the levels of tear inflammatory factors in patients with dry eye syndrome were significantly higher than those in healthy individuals. Moreover, intervention with artificial tears substantially reduced inflammatory factors and alleviated symptoms, an effect that was significantly enhanced when combined with cyclosporine A.