ArticleThe ocular surface2021
Low-dose naltrexone is effective and well-tolerated for modulating symptoms in patients with neuropathic corneal pain.
Article in The ocular surface, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Low Dose Naltrexone In The Management Of Chronic Pain Syndrome: A Meta-Analysis Of Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials.Current pain and headache reports · 2025Pooled it
- A Scoping Review of Pharmacologic and Nonpharmacologic Interventions to Treat Chronic Ocular Pain.Journal of neuro-ophthalmology : the official journal of the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society · 2026Article
- Chronic Ocular Surface Pain: A Missing Member of the Chronic Overlapping Pain Conditions?Drugs · 2026Review
- Low-Dose Naltrexone: What is the Evidence? A Narrative Review.Advances in therapy · 2026Review
- Low-Dose Naltrexone in Chronic Pain Management: Mechanisms, Evidence, and Clinical Implications.Journal of personalized medicine · 2026Review
- Quantitative assessment of light discomfort thresholds in a patient with photoallodynia treated with topical naltrexone 0.01.American journal of ophthalmology case reports · 2026Article
- Electrotherapy in the management of neuropathic corneal pain: narrative review.Experimental biology and medicine (Maywood, N.J.) · 2026Review
- Navigating the Dry Eye Therapeutic Puzzle: A Mechanism-Based Overview of Current Treatments.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- CORONIS symposium 2023: Scientific and clinical frontiers in ocular surface innervation.Acta ophthalmologica · 2025Article
- Development and validation of a deep learning model for diagnosing neuropathic corneal pain via in vivo confocal microscopy.NPJ digital medicine · 2025Article
- Review
- Real-World Effectiveness and Tolerability of Low Dose Naltrexone to Treat Chronic Pain: A Retrospective Cohort Study of One Pain Physician's Practice.Journal of pain research · 2025Article
- Article
- Neuropathic ocular surface pain: Emerging drug targets and therapeutic implications.Expert opinion on therapeutic targets · 2022Review
- Opioids and Ocular Surface Pathology: A Literature Review of New Treatments Horizons.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Review
- Effects of Naltrexone on Expression of Lipid Metabolism-Related Proteins in Liver Steatosis Induced by Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Mice.Contrast media & molecular imaging · 2022Article
- Topical Therapeutic Options in Corneal Neuropathic Pain.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2021Review
- Differential Effects of Treatment Strategies in Individuals With Chronic Ocular Surface Pain With a Neuropathic Component.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposeNeuropathic corneal pain (NCP) is caused by damage or disease of the somatosensory nervous system that innervates the cornea and presents with symptoms of pain or persistent unpleasant sensations, such as burning, dryness, or light sensitivity. This retrospective study aims to assess the efficacy and tolerability of low-dose naltrexone (LDN) in refractory NCP patients.
methodsFifty-nine NCP patients with a centralized component treated with oral LDN 4.5 mg at bedtime for at least four weeks were identified. Thirty out of 59 patients who had a baseline pain score ≥4 on the visual analogue scale had completed the ocular pain assessment survey (OPAS) and presented persistent pain, despite instillation of topical anesthetic drops, were included. Changes in pain scores, comorbidities, side effects, among others, were analyzed. Change in ocular pain scores (scale 0-10) and quality of life (QoL) scores (scale 0-100%) were the main endpoints.
resultsMean age (years ± SD) was 45.60 ± 19.30 with a white (80.00%) female (73.33%) predominance. Duration of LDN use was 14.87 ± 11.25 months, and the duration of NCP before treatment was 17.53 ± 17.29 months. Eight patients used LDN as a monotherapy, whereas the remaining used it as an adjunct therapy. LDN resulted in a 49.22% decrease in mean pain score from 6.13 ± 1.93 to 3.23 ± 2.60 (p < 0.001). Mean QoL scores by the OPAS were 5.84 ± 2.57 at the first visit and improved to 3.77 ± 2.91 at the last visit (p = 0.023). Common side effects were vivid dreams, headaches, and stomachache.
conclusionLDN was effective and well-tolerated for NCP treatment.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.