An eye drop containing ectoine, a hydrophilic molecule not approved by the FDA, led to improved dry eye signs and symptoms within weeks in a single-arm study, according to a study presented at the European Dry Eye Society Congress.
“Ectoine, an osmoprotectant, is naturally secreted by extremophiles, bacteria that live in extremely harsh conditions,” study author Omur Uçakhan-Gündüz, MD, of Ankara University School of Medicine in Turkey, told Healio. “It binds very strongly to water molecules. Ectoine water complexes come together to form a net-like structure that covers the macromolecules and