Microbiology synergism between tear substitutes and symbiotic treatment of patients with irritable bowel syndrome

The tear film consists of a set of heterogeneous substances (lipids, proteins, mucin and water) combined in order to form ahighly organic tropism structure specialized in the defense of the ocular surface. Dry Eye Disease (DED) is characterized bydiscomfort, visual disturbance, constant irritation, foreign body sensation, and blurred vision. We evaluate in this preliminary reportthe effect of supplementation with symbiotic Maxiflor on tear film in DED patients. We recruited 40 patients (27 females and 13males, age 51.5 ± 11. 1) showing signs of discomfort and / or dry eyes (burning, foreign body sensation, dryness or itching).Following the run-in period subjects were randomized in two groups: group A (N°20 subjects) and group B (N°20 subjects). GroupA (control) treated only with substitute tear and group B treated with substitute tear + mixture (symbiotic). The data obtained in thetwo study groups A and B were, respectively the following: Schirmer 10.1±0.2 vs 12.7±0.4 (p< 0.001); Schirmer II 3.6±0.1 VS4.6±0.2 (p<0.001); Fluorescein in break-up time (TF BUT) 4.1±0.3 vs 6.5±0.2 (p<0.001). Culture test showed initial bacterialgrowth in 18 out of 40 samples tested in group “A” (control), corresponding to 45.0%; whereas bacterial culture was found positiveafter treatment in 14 out of 40 tests, equal to 35.0%, in group “B” (symbiotic). A reduction of 16 to 12 strains of aerobic and anaerobicisolates from 10 to 6 has been found. The present study shows that the administration of Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus mayrepresent a successful treatment in ameliorating DED.