Root cause–based dry eye classification and the shift toward precision medicine

Dry eye disease affects a significant portion of patients across ophthalmology practices, yet the field's understanding of the condition has shifted considerably in recent years. The recent TFOS DEWS III report moved away from the traditional aqueous-deficient vs evaporative dichotomy in favor of classifying dry eye by root cause, while new therapies, including anti-TNFα biologics, topical perfluorohexyloctane, and neurostimulation devices, are pushing the field toward mechanism-based, non-drop treatment approaches.