According to the National Eye Institute, 24.4 million Americans who are 40 or older are affected by cataracts.
A cataract is a hazy, thick region that develops in the eye’s lens. When proteins in the eye clump together, the lens is unable to transmit clear images to the retina, which leads to the development of a cataract.
The retina functions by processing impulses from the light that enters via the lens. The three main forms of cataracts are posterior subcapsular, cortical, and nuclear sclerotic. Currently, surgery is the only way to treat cataracts.
However, the study found that a novel new cataract treatment showed astonishingly good laboratory test findings. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science published the research. The study is suggesting that the affliction might soon be able to be treated with drugs.
Advanced optical tests have been conducted on an oxysterol compound that had been suggested as an anti-cataract medication by a group of international researchers led by Professor Barbara Pierscionek, Deputy Dean (Research and Innovation) in the Faculty of Health, Education, Medicine and Social Care at Anglia Ruskin University.
61 percent of lenses treated with the oxysterol compound VP1-001 in laboratory studies had improved refractive index profiles, a crucial optical characteristic required to maintain high focusing capability. This indicates that the lens’s protein structure is being rebuilt, which will improve its ability to focus. A decrease in lens opacity in 46% of cases provided support for this.
The lead professor said “This study has shown the positive effects of a compound that had been proposed as an anti-cataract drug but never before tested on the optics of the lens. It is the first research of this kind in the world.”
Improvements in some forms of cataracts but not all, according to the researchers. This suggest that this may be a treatment for particular types of cataracts. This shows that while creating anti-cataract drugs, distinctions between cataract types may be necessary.
It is a huge step toward using medications rather than surgery to treat this highly frequent illness.
Parvathy Sukumaran 
