humble3d Posted January 13 Share #1 Posted January 13 Scientists Have Developed an Eye Drop That Can Dissolve Cataracts lanosterol-based eye drops Although Lanomax® eye drops were effective also against human catarct, for now a veterinary formulation for dogs and pets is marketed. The therapeutic effect of Lanomax® varies greatly depending on the type of cataract and the degree of its progression.Sep 14, 2022 Lanosterol Do these 3 vitamins keep cataracts from getting worse? Lutein and zeaxanthin work in tandem with vitamin E to fight macular degeneration and cataracts. These are both carotenoids that act as antioxidants to fight oxidation. Other carotenoids include beta-carotene and lycopene. Lanosterol is an amphipathic molecule enriched in the lens synthesized by lanosterol synthase. The genetic roots of severe cataracts have been traced to a mutation of the gene that encodes lanosterol synthase. Treating cells that express disordered crystallin proteins with lanosterol significantly decreased preformed protein aggregates in vitro and in cell-transfection experiments, resulting in solubilization of the cataracts.40 A nanoparticle preparation of lanosterol when applied as eye drops to one eye of a dog with bilateral cataracts for 6 weeks led to a marked dissolution of that cataract, suggesting that dietary-derived small molecules may not only reduce the risk of lens cataracts but may even be used in the therapeutic reversal of cataracts. Human studies are needed to verify this encouraging potential treatment. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/lanosterol 7 Nutrients that Help Prevent Cataracts and Macular Degeneration Is it possible to reverse macular degeneration naturally? If you want to prevent common eye problems like macular degeneration and cataracts in the future, there are some changes to your diet you can implement today. While it may not be possible to fully reverse cataracts with nutrients alone, there are dietary steps you can take to prevent and slow the progress of eye problems like cataracts and macular degeneration. #1: Vitamin C Vitamin C is one of the best vitamins for cataracts. Vitamin C can prevent cataracts from getting worse. How does this work? Let’s start by discussing what causes cataracts. One of the biggest suspects is free radicals which cause oxidation and accelerate aging. Vitamin C acts as a free radical scavenger to counteract the oxidation from free radicals in your body. Add oranges and strawberries to your grocery shopping list. #2: Vitamin E One of your best allies in the fight against Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is vitamin E. Vitamin E slows the progression of macular degeneration and the formation of cataracts. The FDA suggests adult men and women get 22 IU of vitamin E every day. You can find vitamin E in almonds, peanuts, peanut butter, sunflower seeds, spinach, and sweet potatoes. If you have a low-fat diet, you may have a harder time reaching your suggested daily amount of vitamin E. Talk to your doctor about a vitamin regimen to supplement your diet. #3 & #4: Lutein & Zeaxanthin Lutein and zeaxanthin work in tandem with vitamin E to fight macular degeneration and cataracts. These are both carotenoids that act as antioxidants to fight oxidation. Other carotenoids include beta-carotene and lycopene. Incorporate lutein and zeaxanthin in your diet by adding leafy greens to your grocery shopping list. Even if you are not trying to reverse macular degeneration naturally or prevent cataracts, adding these carotenoids can improve your eye health. These carotenoids protect your eyes from damages caused by harmful UV rays and blue light. #5: Vitamin A In the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS), researchers found vitamin A to be beneficial for preventing vision loss from AMD, when taken with other antioxidants. Vitamin A is also important for the surface of your eye and reduces the risk of eye infections. You can find vitamin A in carrots, broccoli, sweet potatoes, spinach, and kale. #6: Glutathione Another free radical scavenger that prevents cataracts from getting worse is glutathione. Glutathione (GSH) is one of the best antioxidants for not just your eyes but your overall health. What foods are sources of GSH? You can find GSH in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, and cauliflower. You can increase your glutathione intake with whey protein or milk thistle as well. #7: Zinc Zinc is great for preventing macular degeneration. You can find zinc in egg yolks, turkey, red meat, seafood, and beans. A study by the National Eye Institute found that people with a high risk of AMD could slow the progression of the disease by 25% and even slow down vision loss by 19% if they took between 40 and 80 mg of zinc each day along with a few antioxidants. A Balanced Diet There are so many different nutrients to prevent macular degeneration and cataracts, but the best approach is to incorporate a combination of these nutrients into your diet to see a difference. You can add so many of these vitamins and nutrients into your diet naturally, but supplements are also an option. Talk to your primary care doctor before making any extreme changes in your diet or vitamin routine. You can also lower your risk for macular degeneration and cataracts by reducing your intake of saturated fat. Another lifestyle change that can help is quitting smoking. Take this time to think about what to add to your lifestyle and what to subtract in order to promote eye health. Talk to Your Eye Doctor Talk with your eye doctor about what you can do to lower your risk of macular degeneration and cataracts. Part of that prevention plan includes regular eye exams with your optometrist. Talk to your doctor about your prevention and treatment options at your next eye exam. A change in your daily diet may not be enough to halt the vision loss related to these eye problems, but your eye doctor can walk you through what steps you can take. Ask your optometrist or ophthalmologist if medicated eye drops can also help you in the fight against cataracts. At Black Rock Vision Center, we use top of the line technology to detect and diagnose eye problems earlier than ever. At our medical optometry practice, you can rest easy knowing you are receiving care of the highest standard. Contact us to schedule an eye exam and learn about your macular degeneration risk factors today. NOTED FAILURES https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-44676-4 Researchers in the US have developed a new drug that can be delivered directly into the eye via an eye dropper to shrink down and dissolve cataracts - the leading cause of blindness in humans. While the effects have yet to be tested on humans, the team from the University of California, San Diego hopes to replicate the findings in clinical trials and offer an alternative to the only treatment that's currently available to cataract patients - painful and often prohibitively expensive surgery. Affecting tens of millions of people worldwide, cataracts cause the lens of the eye to become progressively cloudy, and when left untreated, can lead to total blindness. This occurs when the structure of the crystallin proteins that make up the lens in our eyes deteriorates, causing the damaged or disorganised proteins to clump and form a milky blue or brown layer. While cataracts cannot spread from one eye to the other, they can occur independently in both eyes. Scientists aren't entirely sure what causes cataracts, but most cases are related to age, with the US National Eye Institute reporting that by the age of 80, more than half of all Americans either have a cataract, or have had cataract surgery. While unpleasant, the surgical procedure to remove a cataract is very simple and safe, but many communities in developing countries and regional areas do not have access to the money or facilities to perform it, which means blindness is inevitable for the vast majority of patients. According to the Fred Hollows Foundation, an estimated 32.4 million people around the world today are blind, and 90 percent of them live in developing countries. More than half of these cases were caused by cataracts, which means having an eye drop as an alternative to surgery would make an incredible difference. The new drug is based on a naturally-occurring steroid called lanosterol. The idea to test the effectiveness of lanosterol on cataracts came to the researchers when they became aware of two children in China who had inherited a congenital form of cataract, which had never affected their parents. The researchers discovered that these siblings shared a mutation that stopped the production of lanosterol, which their parents lacked. So if the parents were producing lanosterol and didn't get cataracts, but their children weren't producing lanosterol and did get cataracts, the researchers proposed that the steroid might halt the defective crystallin proteins from clumping together and forming cataracts in the non-congenital form of the disease. They tested their lanosterol-based eye drops in three types of experiments. They worked with human lens in the lab and saw a decrease in cataract size. They then tested the effects on rabbits, and according to Hanae Armitage at Science Mag, after six days, all but two of their 13 patients had gone from having severe cataracts to mild cataracts or no cataracts at all. Finally, they tested the eye drops on dogs with naturally occurring cataracts. Just like the human lens in the lab and the rabbits, the dogs responded positively to the drug, with severe cataracts shrinking away to nothing, or almost nothing. "This is a really comprehensive and compelling paper - the strongest I've seen of its kind in a decade," molecular biologist Jonathan King from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) told Armitage. While not affiliated with this study, King has been involved in cataract research for the past 15 years. "They discovered the phenomena and then followed with all of the experiments that you should do - that's as biologically relevant as you can get." The next step is for the researchers to figure out exactly how the lanosterol-based eye drops are eliciting this response from the cataract proteins, and to progress their research to human trials. SOURCE: https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-developed-an-eye-drop-that-can-dissolve-cataracts-from-eyes --MORE-- Eye drops could dissolve cataracts New therapy has already proven successful in dogs SOURCE: https://www.science.org/content/article/eye-drops-could-dissolve-cataracts Researchers in the United States have made a groundbreaking discovery: an eye drop that has the potential to shrink and dissolve cataracts, which are the leading cause of blindness in humans. Although the effects have not yet been tested on humans, the team from the University of California, San Diego aims to replicate their findings in clinical trials. This innovative approach could provide an alternative to the currently available treatment for cataract patients, which involves painful and often expensive surgery. The new drug is based on a naturally occurring steroid called lanosterol. As of now, the potential side effects of the lanosterol-based eye drops have not been extensively studied in humans. The research conducted so far has primarily focused on laboratory experiments using human lenses and animal models. Therefore, it’s essential to approach this breakthrough with cautious optimism. However, here are some general considerations: Local Irritation: Eye drops can sometimes cause mild irritation or discomfort upon application. This is a common side effect of many ophthalmic medications. Allergic Reactions: Some individuals may be allergic to specific components of the eye drops. Allergic reactions could manifest as redness, itching, or swelling of the eyes. Blurry Vision: Any eye medication can temporarily affect vision immediately after application. This blurriness usually resolves quickly. Long-Term Safety: The long-term safety profile of lanosterol eye drops remains unknown. Clinical trials involving human participants will provide more insights into potential adverse effects. Interaction with Other Medications: If a person is already using other eye medications, there could be interactions. It’s crucial for patients to inform their ophthalmologist about all medications they are taking. Remember that these points are speculative at this stage. Rigorous clinical trials will be necessary to evaluate safety, efficacy, and any potential side effects. If the eye drops prove successful, they could revolutionize cataract treatment and improve the quality of life for millions of people SOURCE: https://www.bing.com/search?q=Scientists+Have+Developed+an+Eye+Drop+That+Can+Dissolve+Cataracts&form=ANNTH1&refig=642e15e2214f4d55b8e007a905ad51ef Lanosterol According to 4 sources Lanosterol, a naturally occurring steroid in the body, serves as the foundation for the eye drop that can aid in the removal of cataracts. Scientists in China developed the novel medicine after discovering th... What Can Dissolve Cataract… staminacomfort.com It may be possible one day to use lanosterol in the form of a topical eye drop to reduce cataract development. Lanosterol eye drops could potentially be a safe, non-invasive, and less costly alternative to catara... Using Eye Drops to Treat Ca… verywellhealth.com World-leading eye experts have made a breakthrough that could potentially change the way cataracts are treated -- with potential for drug therapy to replace surgery. source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210519120744.htm KEYWORDS: Cataract, ophthalmic, nanoparticles, cornea, N-Acetyl Carnosine SOURCE https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6070994/ ---MORE--- N‐acetylcarnosine (NAC) drops for age‐related cataract Cataract is the leading cause of world blindness. N‐acetylcarnosine (NAC) drops for age‐related cataracts What is the aim of this review? The aim of this Cochrane Review was to find out if NAC eye drops can prevent or reverse the progression of cataracts (cloudy lens in the eye). Key messages It is uncertain whether NAC eye drops prevent, or reverse, the progression of cataracts. SOURCE: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6464029/ --MORE-- Novel Eye Drop Delivery Systems: Advance on Formulation Design Strategies Targeting Anterior and Posterior Segments of the Eye Eye drops are the most common and convenient route of topical administration and the first choice of treatment for many ocular diseases. However, the ocular bioavailability of traditional eye drops (i.e., solutions, suspensions, and ointments) is very low because of ophthalmic physiology and barriers, which greatly limits their therapeutic effect. Over the past few decades, many novel eye drop delivery systems, such as prodrugs, cyclodextrins, in situ gels, and nanoparticles, have been developed to improve ophthalmic bioavailability. Keywords: topical administration, traditional eye drops, novel eye drop delivery systems, anterior segment, posterior segment SOURCE: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9229693/ --MORE-- Cataracts can form in different parts of the lens with three main type of cataracts classified according to the location in which the cataract first forms; cortical cataract which manifests as an opacity in the peripheral edges of the lens, and is highest amongst diabetic patients (Figure 1A) [22,23], nuclear cataract where the cataract first occurs in the nucleus, or centre of the lens, and is typically associated with aging (Figure 1B) [24], and posterior subcapsular cataract, which forms in the back of the lens, and is often associated with the use of certain medications, including corticosteroids and diabetes medications (Figure 1C) [25,26]. In addition, patients can present with opacity in more than one area of the lens which can cause overlap in the classification of cataracts. SOURCE: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7602486/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7602486/ 1 1 Link to comment
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