Efficacy and safety of glycyrrhizin 2.5% eye drops in the treatment of moderate dry eye disease: results from a prospective, open-label pilot study

Carole Burillon,1 Frederic Chiambaretta,2 Pierre-Jean Pisella3 1Ophthalmology Department, University Hospital HCL, GH Edouard Herriot, Lyon, France; 2Ophthalmology Department, Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital, Hôpital Gabriel Montpied, Clermont Ferrand, France; 3Ophthalmology Department, Paris Nord Val-de-Seine University Hospitals, Hôpital Bretonneau, Tours, France Background: Dry eye disease (DED) is characterized by a loss of homeostasis of the tear film. It goes along with ocular symptoms, in which ocular surface inflammation and damage play etiological roles. High-mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) is a pro-inflammatory protein found in the tear fluid during conjunctivitis, blepharitis and DED. Glycyrrhizin binds to HMGB1, inhibiting cytokine activities, thus potentially improving DED.Aim: To assess the efficacy and tolerance of glycyrrhizin in moderate DED.Methods: Multicenter, open-label, prospective, nonrandomized clinical pilot study of glycyrrhizin 2.5% eye drops twice daily over 28 days in adult patients with moderate DED using standard evaluation parameters.Results: The overall mean age of the 37 patients included was 59.6±19.0 years, 70.3% of the patients were female and 77.0% of the patients had an Oxford score of II. After 28 days, 60.8% of the patients had an Oxford score of 0 or I; a significant mean improvement in the score of 0.97±0.86 (P