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Review
. 2017 Jun 20:11:1167-1173.
doi: 10.2147/OPTH.S139894. eCollection 2017.

Intense pulsed light for evaporative dry eye disease

Steven J Dell  1
Affiliations
Review

Intense pulsed light for evaporative dry eye disease

Steven J Dell. Clin Ophthalmol. .

Abstract

There is a clear association between dry eye disease (DED) and skin inflammatory diseases occurring in close proximity to the eyelids, such as facial skin rosacea. Intense pulsed light (IPL) is widely accepted as a treatment for skin rosacea. A number of recent studies demonstrated that, in patients suffering from meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), IPL therapy also reduces signs and symptoms of DED. Despite these encouraging results, in the context of DED and MGD, the mechanisms of action of IPL are not well understood. The purpose of this review was to raise the potential mechanisms of action and to discuss their plausibility.

Keywords: dry eye disease; intense pulsed light; meibomian gland dysfunction; skin rosacea.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure SJD is a consultant for Lumenis Ltd. The author reports no other conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Treatment area in IPL therapy of MGD. Note: Each yellow rectangle schematically represents the site of a single IPL pulse application. Abbreviations: IPL, intense pulsed light; MGD, meibomian gland dysfunction.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mechanisms of action of IPL (simplified model). Notes: Green arrows (+) represent effects that increase the level of the target; red arrows (−) represent effects that decrease the level of the target. Abbreviations: IPL, intense pulsed light; a, skin rejuvenation; b, rosacea treatment; c, thrombosis; d, down-regulation; e, coagulation; f, warming and liquefying; g, up-regulation; h, fibroblasts activation; i, attenuation; j, production.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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