Effect of Taurine on Experimental Facial Paralysis and Dry Eye in Rats

İngilizce (OpenAlex)

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate dry eye development and the efficacy of taurine for dry eye treatment in a rat model with facial paralysis. Material and Methods: Thirty-two rats were divided into four groups with eight rats in each. The rats in groups 2, 3, and 4 underwent facial paralysis surgically, while the rats in group 1 remained as controls. The rats in group 2 did not receive any treatment. Group 3 was treated with 0.2% sodium hyaluronate, and group 4 was treated with 0.2% sodium hyaluronate and 0.5% taurine. The results of the first and last Schirmer’s tests were compared. Results: When the Schirmer’s tests were performed in rats with facial paralysis under general anesthesia to detect dry eye, the scores were low, indicating that general anesthesia increased dry eye in all groups. Thus, Schirmer’s tests were performed without general anesthesia. The final test results were significantly different between groups (p=0.001). Pairwise comparisons revealed that there was a significant decrease in groups 2 (p=0.001) and 3 (p=0.002) compared to the control group. Group 4 was similar to the control group (p=0.304) and had a significant improvement compared to group 2 (p=0.037). No statistically significant difference was found between groups 2 and 4 (p=0.566). Conclusion: Taurine seems to have the potential to be effective in relieving dry eye symptoms. This could be related to the dominantly antioxidant effect of taurine. These results warrant further studies with larger sample size to determine the effectiveness of taurine for dry eye treatment.