Efficacy study in a new dry eye disease model in rat

干眼症是影响加拿大人的最常见的眼睛问题。干眼是一种多因素疾病，导致泪膜减少并引发炎症反应，导致干燥、刺激、灼热和疼痛。市场上只有几种药物可以控制干眼症状，长期使用会导致不良反应。大麻素具有明显的镇痛抗炎作用，对干眼症患者有一定的治疗作用。利乐生物制药公司是一家专门生产治疗性大麻的制药公司。该研究的目的是评估大麻素衍生药物在一种新的干眼病大鼠模型中的疗效。该项目的第一阶段将是开发一种最近描述的由泪腺切除引起的大鼠干眼症模型。该模型比东莨菪碱注射所致干眼症模型更稳定，更适合我们的设备。随着模型的建立，大鼠将接受大麻素衍生药物的滴眼液治疗。该药物的疗效将根据泪量、角膜损伤和角膜免疫细胞浸润来评估。

Dry eye disease is the most common eye problem affecting the Canadian population. Dry eye is a multifactorialdisease leading to a reduction in the tear film and induction of an inflammatory response causing dryness,irritation, burning and pain. There are only a few drugs available on the market to managed dry eye symptoms and they can cause adverse effect when use on the long term. The cannabinoids have shown analgesic andanti-inflammatory efficacy that could benefit to patient with dry eye. Tetra Bio-pharma is a pharmaceuticalcompany specialized in therapeutic cannabinoids. The objective of the study is to evaluate the efficacy ofcannabinoid-derived drugs in a new rat model of dry eye disease. The first phase of the project will be todevelop a recently described model of dry eye disease in rats induced by lacrimal gland excision. This model is more stable and will be more adapted to our facilities than the model of dry eye disease induced byscopolamine injection. Following the model development, the rats will be treated with eye drops ofcannabinoid-derived drugs. The efficacy of the drug will be evaluated according to tear volume, cornealdamage and immun cell infiltration in the cornea.