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Steroidal eye drops could soon help clear cataracts

LONDON — Eye drops could soon be used to treat patients who have cataracts.

LONDON — Eye drops could soon be used to treat patients who have cataracts.

Scientists have discovered a chemical that reduces the clouding that appears over the eye. The drops, which would be used twice a day, could be widely available within five years.

Cataracts, cloudy patches that develop in the lens of the eye, cause blurred or misty vision. They are the main cause of blindness in the world and affect the vision of more than half of elderly people. There is no medication to prevent or reverse cataracts.

The only treatment is surgery, which can lead to complications. Many patients left unable to read or drive are forced to wait until their sight deteriorates even further to qualify for surgery in some areas. If left untreated, all vision could be lost.

US researchers found that the chemical lanosterol, the main molecule in steroids, can break up the proteins that cloud the lens. They tested lanosterol eye drops on elderly dogs and rabbits, and found that vision had improved within six weeks.

Dr Kang Zhang, an eye specialist from the University of California San Diego, hopes to start the first clinical trials on humans in the next one to two years. He believes that the body naturally produces lanosterol when we are younger, but that as we get older, not enough is produced to prevent cataracts from developing.

The Daily Telegraph

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