Improve dry eye by regulating hormone levels

In fact, more than 70 percent of people in this age group are thought to have meibomian gland disease, the most common cause of dry eye

Loss of sex steroid hormones produced by 3-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3-HSD) causes this condition, but it can be treated with nicotinamide mononucleoside, a new study led by researchers at Kyoto University reports.

"The meibomian glands are located on the eyelids and produce the oil that coats the eyes

Despite the high frequency of meibomian gland disorders, it does not appear to be life-threatening

There is currently no treatment for meibomian gland disease because the underlying molecular mechanisms are not known

As we age, our hormone production decreases

Generally, hormones are produced by endocrine organs and then enter the blood circulation to regulate the rest of the body

"Indeed, disturbed 3-HSD enzyme activity in mutant mice leads to gland atrophy, which further contributes to disease," concludes Doi

The research team's main interest in 3-HSD activity lies in its circadian rhythm, which is responsible for a range of oscillating physiological behaviors such as sleep, menstrual cycles and hormone secretion

Doi added: "We found that the enzymatic activity of 3-HSD peaked while the mice were sleeping

The oscillatory activity of 3-HSD is due to the abundance of the 3-HSD cofactor nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) in the gland, a coenzyme present in all cells and commonly sold as an over-the-counter supplement

To confirm this, the study showed that topical administration of nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN, a precursor of NAD) can increase the amount of NAD, thereby restarting the activity of 3-HSD

While steroids, such as testosterone, often have unexpected side effects, Doi said, "Our study shows that this problem can be avoided not only with topical therapy, but also with nonsteroidal drugs, such as NMN

Journal Reference :

1. Lena Sasaki, Yuki Hamada, Daisuke Yarimizu, Tomo Suzuki, Hiroki Nakamura, Aya Shimada, Khanh Tien Nguyen Pham, Xinyan Shao, Koki Yamamura, Tsutomu Inatomi, Hironobu Morinaga, Emi K.