Comparison of treatment effects between 4.9% N-acetyl-aspartyl glutamic acid and 0.05% cyclosporine A eye drops in dry eye patients.

PURPOSE: We aimed to investigate the difference in the treatment effects of 4.9% N-acetyl-aspartyl glutamic acid (NAAGA) and 0.05% cyclosporine A (CsA) eye drops in dry eye patients.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 86 patients (86 eyes) who were diagnosed with dry eye and treated with NAAGA or CsA eye drops. Patients treated with NAAGA or CsA eye drops were designated as group A or B, respectively. We also calculated Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), dry eye, and meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) parameters before treatment and at 1 and 3 months after treatment. Eye drop discomfort was assessed by calculating visual analog scale (VAS) scores at 1 month and 3 months after treatment.

RESULTS

There were no significant differences in patients' demographics and OSDI, dry eye, and MGD parameters between the two groups. OSDI, dry eye, and MGD parameters at 1 month and 3 months after treatment were found to be improved in both groups. However, at 1 month after treatment, the dry eye and MGD parameters of group A, except for corneal fluorescein staining, showed more improvement than those of group B. Additionally, at 3 months after treatment, the lid margin abnormality score, corneal staining score, tear break-up time, and OSDI of group A were significantly lower than those of group B. VAS scores of group A at 1 and 3 months after treatment were significantly lower than those of group B.

CONCLUSION

Treatment with NAAGA eye drops was effective in dry eye patients and demonstrated faster treatment response and less discomfort during application than CsA eye drops.