Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. In a study of 121 women with a dry eye syndrome, those who received omega-3 fats EPA and DHA and the omega-6 fat borage oil had a 13% decrease in inflammatory protein in the eye.
Dry Eye Syndrome occurs when the eye does not produce tears properly or when the tears are not of the correct consistency and evaporate too quickly. Dry Eye affects mostly women older than 65 years (2) and costs our healthcare system $3.84 billion per year (3).
One frequent component of dry eye syndrome is inflammation of the surface of the eye. If left untreated, this condition can lead to pain, ulcers, or scars on the cornea, and some loss of vision (though this is uncommon). Now a new study (4) suggests omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids may help with eye health.
In the study, 121 men and women with an average age of 60 received either a capsule containing the omega-3 fats EPA (427.5 milligrams) and DHA (285 mg) with the omega-6 fat borage oil (15 mg = 58 patients) or a placebo (575 mg of medium-chain triglycerides = 63 patients) per day for 3 months. The researchers used the omega-3 fats for inflammation while they used the omega-6 oils, since it has been shown to help with tear production (5).
During the study, patients underwent an eye exam 3 times (before the study, at week 6, and after the study). They also completed a quality of life questionnaire (6) consisting of 28 questions assessing the impact of the disease related to daily activities, professional activities, makeup, recognition, acceptance, fears and emotional well-being. The scores range from 0 (lowest quality of life) to 100 (highest quality of life).
By the end of the study, those in the omega-3 group experienced a 13% decrease in the number of eye cells testing positive for an inflammatory protein called HLA-DR (50.53 to 44.06%) compared to a 2.6% decrease in the placebo group (56.38 to 54.93%, p = 0.021). Not only was there a decreased level of the inflammatory HLA-DR protein, but those that were present had a significantly lower level of activity, with a 28% decrease in the omega-3 group (53438 to 38553 AUF Intensity) compared to a 5% decrease in the placebo group (62249 to 59159 AUF Intensity, p = 0.041).
No statistically significant differences were noted in the quality of life surveys between the two groups, which the researchers attribute to the small sample size of the study. They went on to conclude that “supplementation with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids can reduce expression of HLA-DR conjunctival inflammatory marker and may help improve dry eye symptoms.”
An item of note is why the researchers only used 15 milligrams of borage oil, whereas a typical dose used in supplements is 45 to 240 mg GLA. Use of a higher dose may be useful in future research. The intake levels for the EPA and DHA in the study are normal for high potency EPA and DHA supplements (typically 500 mg EPA and 250 mg DHA), but the more common potencies are 180 mg EPA and 120 mg DHA.
Source: Brignole‐Baudouin, Françoise, et al. “A multicentre, double‐masked, randomized, controlled trial assessing the effect of oral supplementation of omega‐3 and omega‐6 fatty acids on a conjunctival inflammatory marker in dry eye patients.” Acta ophthalmologica 89.7 (2011).
© 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Posted April 17, 2013.
Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com
References:
- “Facts About Dry Eye” from the National Eye Institute website
- Schaumberg DA. Prevalence of dry eye syndrome among US women. Am J Ophthalmol 2003 Aug;136(2):318-26.
- Yu J. The economic burden of dry eye disease in the United States: a decision tree analysis. Cornea 2011 Apr;30(4):379-87. doi: 10.1097/ICO.0b013e3181f7f363.
- Brignole-Baudouin F. A multicentre, double-masked, randomized, controlled trial assessing the effect of oral supplementation of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids on a conjunctival inflammatory marker in dry eye patients .Acta Ophthalmol 2011 Nov;89(7):e591-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2011.02196.x. Epub 2011 Aug 11
- Macri A, Giuffrida S, Amico V, Iester M & Traverso CE. Effect of linoleic acid and gamma-linolenic acid on tear production, tear clearance and on the ocular surface after photorefractive keratectomy. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 2003; 241: 561–566
- Baudouin C, Creuzot-Garcher C, Hoang- Xuan T et al. Severe impairment of health-related quality of life in patients suffering from ocular surface diseases. J Fr Ophtalmol 2008; 31: 369–378.
