Background:

Gefarnate is a drug used for the treatment of gastritis and gastric ulcer, and has been proposed for use in the treatment of dry eye syndrome.

Gefarnate (0.001, 0.01, or 0.1 mg/mL) increases mucin-like glycoprotein secretion in a dose-dependent fashion, but the difference from the control is significant only at the concentration of 0.1 mg/mL. Gefarnate specifically stimulates the mucin-like glycoprotein secretion[1].

[1]. Nakamura M, et al. Gefarnate stimulates secretion of mucin-like glycoproteins by corneal epithelium in vitro and protects corneal epithelium from desiccation in vivo. Exp Eye Res. 1997 Oct;65(4):569-74.