Researchers reveal advances toward drug treatment of cataracts

An oxysterol compound called VP1-001 that has led to an improvement in refractive index profiles in 61 percent of lenses.

Treatment with the oxysterol compound VP1-001 showed an improvement in the refractive index-optical parameter profiles. Photo: Shutterstock.

A revolutionary new treatment for the waterfalls has obtained very positive results in animal models, which gives hope that this disease, which can currently only be cured with surgery, may soon be treated with drugs. The results are published in Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science.

A team of international scientists, led by Barbara Pierscionekfrom Anglia Ruskin Universityhas performed advanced optical tests with and compound of oxysterol that had been proposed as a drug once morest cataracts.

In laboratory tests, treatment with the oxysterol compound VP1-001 showed an improvement in refractive index profiles – a key optical parameter that is necessary to maintain a high focusing ability– in 61 percent of the lenses. This means that the protein organization of the lens is restored, which makes it able to focus better. This was supported by a reduction in lens opacity in 46 percent of cases.

Pierscionek comments that “this study has demonstrated the positive effects of a compound that had been proposed as a drug once morest cataract, but had never been tested in lens optics. It is the first investigation of its kind in the world.”

“He has shown that there is a noticeable difference and improvement in optics between eyes with the same type of cataract that were treated with the compound compared to those that were not, he adds. Improvements occurred in some but not all types of cataracts, indicating that it may be a treatment for specific cataracts. This suggests that distinctions between cataract types may need to be made when developing anti-cataract medications. This is an important step towards treating this very serious condition. common with drugs instead of surgery“.

In summary, the effect of VP1-001 treatment on refractive index measurement by X-ray phase tomography has not been previously investigated, thus the refractive index contours revealed by this method provide additional information beyond that provided by slit-lamp biomicroscopy, allow more detailed visualization of areas affected by Cryaa and Cryabmutations and indicate, for the first time, potential mechanisms by which VP1-001 may improve lens optics and thus , clarity of vision.

“Detection of a-crystalline mutation-induced structural features by X-ray phase tomography might help in the diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment of cataracts,” they concluded.

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