Herbal Medication to Treat Dry Eye in Peri/ Post-menopausal Women

Dry eye disease (DED) in less severe forms are very common, and should ideally be treated outside hospitals, eg., through primary care services and exploiting holistic therapies such as traditional medicine. This will keep the care affordable and accessible despite a large burden of care. Postmenopausal women, compared to others in the population, have a higher incidence of DED. Large-scale epidemiological studies done in the United States have shown that the rate of DED in women over 50 years old is nearly double that in men over 50, at 7% and 4%, respectively. Studies have demonstrated that there is a hormonal etiology behind this group's susceptibility to DED, although the precise hormonal imbalance and mechanistic pathway for DED are still unclear. A significant number of women seen at the dry eye clinic are post-menopausal, and very symptomatic, though many do not have the corneal epitheliopathy evidenced by dye staining. Such patients are not likely to benefit from conventional prescription drugs for dry eye, such as cyclosporine and corticosteroids. Hormonal replacement therapy for menopausal women has not been universally accepted, and there may be an increased risk of carcinomas, on the other hand, topical hormonal therapy for dry eye is not widely available, and still controversial, so there is a definite unmet need for new therapeutic modalities to treat dry eye in post-menopausal women. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a form of complementary medicine that aims to treat yin or yang deficiency syndromes, using modalities like herbs, acupuncture or moxibustion. Menopause in women, particularly in Asia, has been linked to yin-deficiency, in one study, 73% of Chinese post-menopausal women suffered from kidney yin-deficiency. A review of randomized controlled trials of TCM treatment showed that certain modalities like soy and phytoestrogens have been useful in the treatment of syndromes in menopause, such as hot flushes.