الفهرس 
Aim of the workOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
The tear film overlays the ocular surface and provides the interface between the eye and the external environment. The tear film is essential for the nutrition and protection of the ocular surface and for clear vision as the tear film is the first refractive surface of the eye.
Dry eye is a disorder of the tear film which occurs due to tear deficiency or excessive tear evaporation. Dry eye is a multifactorial disease of the tears and ocular surface that results in symptoms of discomfort, visual disturbance and tear film instability, with potential damage to the ocular surface. It is accompanied by increased osmolarity of the tear film and inflammation of the ocular surface.
Dietary intake of essential fatty acids is an alternative treatment in patients with dry eye. These fatty acids are the precursors for the synthesis of eicosanoids, i.e. prostaglandins, thromboxanes, and leukotrienes, which play important roles in inflammatory cascades. Arachidonic acid (AA) is converted into 2-series prostaglandins and 4-series leukotrienes via the cyclooxygenase and 5-lipoxygenase enzymes, respectively. The production of these AA-derived mediators can be decreased by the dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acid or eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) through a process of competitive enzyme inhibition, shifting the balance towards a less inflammatory state.
Our study carried out on 104 eyes of 52 patients who complained from dry eye symptoms (foreign body sensation, burning, itching, red eye, photophobia, or blurring of vision) and randomly allocated in two groups, group A that received omega 3 supplement plus artificial tears, and other didn’t receive omega 3 and all of them
Summary
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underwent for the diagnostic tests (Tear break – up time, OSDI and schirmer I test) for 1 month.
In this study OSDI, Schirmer’s test and TBUT showed significant improvement in both group A and group B this improvement was significantly higher in group A in comparison to group B for OSDI, TBUT and Schirmer’s test.
These results illustrated that supplementing the diet with high amounts of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids decreases dry eye symptoms and increases tear film stability.