Efficacy study in a new dry eye disease model in rat

干眼病是影响加拿大人口的最常见的眼病。干眼症是一种多因素疾病，会导致泪膜减少，并引起炎症反应，导致干燥、刺激、灼烧和疼痛。市场上只有少数药物可用于治疗干眼症状，长期使用可能会产生不良反应。大麻素具有镇痛和抗炎作用，对干眼症患者有益。利乐生物制药公司是一家专门从事治疗大麻素的制药公司。本研究的目的是评价大麻素衍生药物对干眼病大鼠模型的疗效。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病模型。该模型比注射东莨菪碱引起的干眼病模型更稳定，更适合我们的设施。随着模型的发展，将用大麻素衍生药物滴眼液治疗大鼠。根据泪液量、角膜损伤情况和角膜免疫细胞浸润情况评价药物的疗效。

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.