June 19, 2018 - Eye Health
Hey folks, it’s Dr. Sam and I want to talk to you today about the ocular microbiome.
There’s been a lot written about the microbiomes in terms of our intestinal health. But in terms of our ocular health, the research is certainly still in its early stages. When I dug into the research, I found a paper that was published in a journal called Experimental Eye Research. And in that study, researchers tried to collect some bacterial strains from the inside part of the eyelid and they unsuccessfully tried to culture it to determine which strains make up the ocular microbiome.
In another paper which has come out recently in Investigative Ophthalmology Journal, they used a different technique to determine which strains make up the eye’s microbiome – DNA sequencing. They collected enough bacteria from the eye to actually see that there are in fact, a substantial number of strains of bacteria in the eye.
This is exciting news even though it was a small sample size. We know how important the microbiome is to our overall immune system and reducing inflammation in the body. So while I think more research needs to be done on the ocular microbiome, I think it’s important to question how certain things like antibiotic eyedrops, steroidal eye drops, or even drops like Visine or Restasis may affect our ocular microbiome.
I am certainly excited to see more studies be published on the topic because if we better understand the role certain strains of probiotics in the eye, we may be able to view the prevention and treatment of certain eye diseases in a whole new light.
So that’s my message for today. I want to thank you so much for tuning in. And until next time take good care.