What's new in dry eye research today? | Sep 23, 2026

【Title】Dendrimer-mediated co-delivery of curcumin and miR-146a attenuates dry eye disease

【Journal】Journal of Controlled Release

【Authors】Dan Chen; Siting Sheng; Lirui Liu; et al.

【Summary】This study developed mRC@PAM, a polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer-based eye-drop system that co-delivers curcumin and miR-146a to simultaneously target oxidative stress and chronic inflammation in dry eye disease. The formulation demonstrated good physicochemical stability, high loading efficiency, biocompatibility, and prolonged ocular surface retention. Mechanistically, mRC@PAM restored intracellular redox balance and mitochondrial integrity while miR-146a suppressed IRAK1 and the downstream NF-κB inflammatory pathway, thereby modulating macrophage polarization. In vivo, treatment reduced ROS accumulation and corneal apoptosis, promoted corneal epithelial and conjunctival goblet cell recovery, decreased inflammatory cell infiltration, and improved tear-film stability. These findings support mRC@PAM as a potential dual-action nanotherapeutic strategy for DED.

【Title】Repeatability and Reproducibility of the Dry Eye Analyzer in Participants With and Without Symptoms of Dry Eye

【Journal】Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics

【Authors】Reut Ifrah; Efrat Netanya

【Summary】This study evaluated the inter-examiner reproducibility (IER), inter-session repeatability (ISR), and within-subject variability of the Dry Eye Analyzer (DEA) in participants with and without dry eye symptoms. A total of 84 participants were assessed for IER and 68 for ISR using NITBUT, meibomian gland loss, tear meniscus height, interferometry, and conjunctival redness. Meibomian gland loss measurements showed excellent inter-examiner agreement and low within-subject variability, with ICCs ranging from 0.51 to 0.99 across parameters. NITBUT demonstrated moderate reliability and examiner-related bias, with a mean inter-examiner bias of −1.68 s overall and −2.90 s among symptomatic participants. The authors conclude that DEA reliability varies by parameter and that NITBUT and TMH should be interpreted cautiously during follow-up.