New eye drop may be potentially effective in treating seasonal eye allergies

A recent study shows that a new eye drop may be a potentially effective treatment for seasonal eye allergies, a condition affecting millions of people worldwide. The findings will be presented at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) in Honolulu, Hawaii, Sunday, April 29 – Thursday, May 3.

In a set of studies, the scientists assessed whether or not a non-antihistamine drug that targets a specific gene linked to eye infections could be a potential option to treat patients suffering from seasonal allergies. The team evaluated different biological fluids before administering the compound in eye drop form to a mouse model with eye allergies.

Results showed that this treatment for pollen-induced eye allergies reduced allergy-related symptoms (swelling and tearing) by 50 – 80%. According to the researchers, these observations were equivalent to those observed in response to Patanol and Levocabastine -; two frequently prescribed antihistamine eye drop medications used to treat seasonal eye allergies.

"This new therapy allows the number of administrations to be reduced to once daily without inducing systemic side effects, and it is expected to improve the quality of life for patients suffering from seasonal allergies," says Victoria Gonzalez Mpharm, PhD, of Sylentis, a Spain-based company that specializes in development of ocular treatments based in RNA interference.