title: Clinical evaluation of pimecrolimus eye drops for treatment of canine keratoconjunctivitis sicca: a comparison with cyclosporine A.
abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of pimecrolimus oil-based eye drops in alleviating the clinical signs of keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) in dogs and to compare the efficacy with that of cyclosporine A (CsA) ointment. An open-label, multicenter study enrolling 44 dogs previously untreated with CsA was conducted. Dogs were randomly assigned to a treatment group and medicated twice daily for 8 weeks. After that time the mean increase (+/-SEM) in the Schirmer tear test was 9.2+/-1.6 mm/min in the pimecrolimus group and 5.8+/-1.1 mm/min in the CsA group (P=0.085). The improvement in clinical signs of inflammation in eyes treated with pimecrolimus was significantly greater than in eyes treated with CsA (P=0.02). The results show that 1% pimecrolimus oily eye drops are as safe as and more effective than CsA ointment in controlling KCS in dogs.
authors.affiliation: Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel. ofri@agri.huji.ac.il
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ofri
authors.forename: George N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Lambrou
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Allgoewer
authors.forename: Uwe
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Graenitz
authors.forename: Teresa M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Pena
authors.forename: Bernhard M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Spiess
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Latour
mesh_terms: D000287:Administration, Topical; D000818:Animals; D016572:Cyclosporine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007638:Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D009883:Ophthalmic Solutions; D016559:Tacrolimus / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D009883:Ophthalmic Solutions; C117268:pimecrolimus; D016572:Cyclosporine; D016559:Tacrolimus