Clearing drug shows promise as treatment without surgery for cataract!
When a person develops a cataract, the normally clear lens in the eye becomes cloudy. This often occurs with age, but can also be caused by the eye’s overexposure to the sun or injury, as well as smoking, medical conditions such as diabetes, and some medications.
Surgery can correct the condition by replacing the lens with an artificial one.
The compound they used was oxysterol, which is an oxygenated derivative of cholesterol that plays a role in the regulation and transport of cholesterol.
Cataract surgery is not universally available but the WHO and several non-governmental agencies such as SEE operate programs to help more people worldwide.
Dr. Brissette underscored that treatment for cataracts was crucial as it can “lead to increased risk of dementia and increased risk of fall as we get older.”
A promising result
The researchers tested an assortment of 35 wild mice and mice genetically altered to develop lens cloudiness through an alteration of their αB-crystallin or αA-crystallin proteins.
In the right eye of 26 mice, the researchers administered a single drop of an oxysterol compound, VP1-001, directly onto the ocular surface.
Meanwhile, they gave a neutral drop of cyclodextrin in their left eyes. Nine mice were left untreated as a control group.
The target of the treatment was the αA- and αB-crystallin mutations that often cause cataracts in aging.
The VP1-001 improved lens opacity for 61% of the eye lenses the researchers treated. They observed a 1.0 improvement in the opacity grade of 46% in the treated mice.
Despite describing the result as “spectacular,” Dr. Haci Ugur Celik, assistant professor of clinical ophthalmology at the University of Rochester Medical Center, NY, who was not involved in the study, also expressed concerns over its value to clinical practice.
“Although the study result encourages the readers, I do not think there will be another option than cataract extraction surgery with phacoemulsification to treat cataracts for long years,”
Beyond improved vision
Dr. Brissette called the study’s area of interest “a hot topic for research” into cataract development, but pointed out that the results are not enough to change the current standard of care for cataract treatment.
“Oxysterol may one day slow or decrease the development of cataracts, it does not improve the refractive error.” — Dr. Ashley Brissette
Even considering the narrow scope of the study’s investigation, Dr. Celik said human studies were needed long term, with “larger groups with specific cataract formation related with αA- and αB-crystallin mutation.”
Dr. Brissette agreed, saying:
“This is still early animal-based research and would need many years of study in human subjects before it would be recommended as an intervention for cataracts. As well, as mentioned above, although it may decrease the development of cataract in some, it will not treat refractive error.”
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