Anat Galor, MD, MSPH

Dry Eye

Anat Galor, M.D., is an expert on ocular surface pain and dry eye, a prevalent condition worldwide, and its relationship with neuropathic ocular pain. She is also an expert in the epidemiology and treatment of persistent pain after LASIK. Galor has evaluated the efficacy of several therapies in the treatment of neuropathic ocular pain including gabapentinoids, periocular injections, and transcutaneous electrical stimulation. and has also focused on how ocular surface symptoms, including pain, affect the quality of life. She has brought to light the role of nerve dysfunction in dry eye and has developed novel diagnostic and therapeutic metrics to address dry eye symptoms and ocular pain due to nerve sensitization.  She first demonstrated that symptoms and signs of dry eye were often discordant. This observation prompted her to study whether nerve dysfunction was the missing link between the observed discordance. She demonstrated that many symptoms of dry eye, such as burning and sensitivity to wind and light, were shared with chronic pain conditions outside the eye. She tested her hypothesis by measuring nerve sensitivity in the cornea and forearm and demonstrated that individuals with dry eye symptoms and ocular pain had increased sensitivity both locally (on the cornea) and remote to the eye (on the forearm). Given these findings, she has been testing whether strategies that are effective in preventing and treating non-ocular pain could be applied to dry eye and ocular pain, including oral agents (α2δ ligands), injections, and stimulation therapy. She has published her work in high-impact ophthalmology and pain journals. Dr. Galor was named to The Ophthalmologist Power List 2021.