The Potential of Eye Drops That Dissolve Cataracts: What You Need to Know
Medical technology continues to advance, and one of the latest innovations is eye drops that dissolve cataracts; undoubtedly, a great help for millions of people worldwide.
Eye drops that dissolve cataracts are a discovery that would bring hope to many people.
A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye. Cataracts can make your vision blurry, hazy, or less colorful.
It is worth noting that most cataracts develop due to natural changes in your eyes as you age.
According to the National Eye Institute of the United States, when the disease is starting, it is likely that a person may not realize they have a cataract.
However, over time, they may notice that their vision becomes blurry, hazy, or less colorful, which can cause problems with everyday activities like reading. In the long term, cataracts can even lead to vision loss.
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Therefore, knowing that there are eye drops that dissolve cataracts is a reason for hope for patients suffering from them.
Until today, surgery has been believed to be the only way to treat cataracts, the leading cause of blindness in the world. Doctors remove the cloudy lenses and replace them with artificial lenses.
Mechanism of Action of Eye Drops That Dissolve Cataracts
Researchers have discovered that an organic compound called lanosterol can improve vision by dissolving the clumped proteins that form cataracts.
This finding is reported by the lead author of the study, specialist Kang Zhang, head of ophthalmic genetics at the Shiley Eye Institute at the University of California, San Diego.
Cataract-dissolving eye drops containing lanosterol completely cleared the vision of three dogs with naturally occurring cataracts after six weeks of treatment.
The drops also improved the vision of four other dogs suffering from cataracts, according to findings published in the journal Nature.
“The results we have point to a new non-surgical treatment for cataracts, which can be used in people with moderate cataracts or those who do not have access to surgery,” Zhang stated.
Promising Findings
These findings “point to a new direction in cataract research” at a time when there is immense pressure to find a better way to treat them, said Dr. J. Fielding Hejtmancik, principal investigator at the National Eye Institute (NEI) of the U.S.
According to certain numbers, between 2000 and 2010, cataract cases increased by 20 percent in the U.S., from 20.5 million to 24.4 million, according to the NEI.
And that’s not all; it is estimated that this number will double to an estimated 50 million by 2050.
Therefore, knowing about eye drops that dissolve cataracts would be a key factor in the health of these individuals. In this sense, cataract surgery is a safe and routine procedure, but the demand will dramatically increase.
Clinical Trials of Lanosterol
Lanosterol drops could provide a cheaper and easier alternative for treating cataracts in many people, and possibly prevent cataracts in those at risk.
According to studies, cataracts can be detected long before they become a problem for the person who has them.
When an eye exam is performed, some cloudiness can be observed, indicating the onset of cataracts.
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This provides a way to detect them in individuals, for example, when they are 50 years old. In this sense, cataract-dissolving eye drops can act as a preventive measure.
Cataracts occur when the normally clear crystalline proteins that form the lens begin to clump together, clouding or blurring vision.
Damage from aging and exposure to ultraviolet light typically promote this clumping.
Eye Drops That Dissolve Cataracts
The human body generally uses lanosterol to synthesize cholesterol and steroid hormones. However, researchers found that there are also high concentrations of lanosterol in the lens, said Zhang.
Laboratory tests showed that lanosterol could prevent the proteins that cause cataracts from clumping in a Petri dish. Lanosterol also cleared cataracts in the dissected lenses of 13 laboratory rabbits.
As a final test, Zhang and his team evaluated the drops in seven dogs with cataracts. All responded to the treatment, with partial or total resolution of their cataracts.
Eye Drops That Dissolve Cataracts Can Prevent the Disease
One of the most common eye problems is cataracts, which is a progressive clouding of the lens located in the front part of the eye, called the lens.
The lack of information leads people to think that just as drops can relieve debris that falls into the eye, other drops can prevent or dissolve cataracts.
As with other chronic conditions, the improper use of eye drops neither prevents nor dissolves cataracts.
Instead, it prevents the individual from visiting an ophthalmologist who knows what to do and can offer the appropriate treatment.
Molecular biologist Ling Zhao and his team developed the eye drops after finding a group of children with an inherited genetic defect of cataracts who shared a mutation that stopped the production of lanosterol.
Recovering Proteins in the Eyes
Researchers suspect that lanosterol prevents the clumping of proteins in the eye.
To determine the effect of lanosterol on cataract production, a medical team reproduced protein aggregation leading to cataracts in cell culture and observed that both the overexpression of LSS and the addition of lanosterol to the culture medium prevented the accumulation of proteins responsible for cataracts.
Moreover, treatment with lanosterol reduced the severity of cataracts in an in vivo model in dogs.
Thus, the study concludes that lanosterol is a key molecule for preventing protein aggregation in the lens and points to its potential use in cataract treatment.
The Future with Eye Drops That Dissolve Cataracts
Human studies will determine if this treatment could mean the end of cataract surgery, the end of presbyopia surgery, or both.
Even if this is not the case, it is clear that it could be of great help as a treatment before any type of refractive surgery with a non-transparent lens.
The study concludes that lanosterol is a key molecule for preventing protein aggregation in the lens and points to its potential use in cataract treatment.
The study’s results are still preliminary, and before the first human trials can begin, they must be confirmed, and it must be determined whether other similar compounds have the same effect.
Despite this, to date, surgery remains the only proven option, but scientists continue to work on lanosterol studies.
When Can We Start Treating Cataracts with Lanosterol Drops
Before a drug can be applied, whether in drops, orally, or intravenously, it must go through established stages of research.
As of now, we are in the phase of demonstrating efficacy and the lack of side effects in the human eye, which, if all goes well, may take a few years.
The most important aspect of this advancement is not that we will stop performing cataract surgeries in Europe and the United States, since cataract surgery effectively solves this problem and restores vision.
The great advantage of this contribution is the application of these drops in underdeveloped countries where millions of people are strictly blind due to cataracts.
To recap, the most common symptoms of cataracts are:
- Blurred vision, a feeling of fog (as if seeing through a fogged-up glass)
- Increased difficulty seeing at night
- Sensitivity to light and glare
- Need for brighter light to read and perform other activities
- Seeing “halos” around lights
- Frequent changes in the prescription of your glasses or contact lenses
- Fading or yellowing of colors
- Double vision in one eye
Lanosterol has been shown to prevent the disorganization of lens proteins and thus maintain transparency.