Cataracts in eyes could be treated without surgery simply with the help of eye drops says researchers from the University of California, San Diego in a study published on July 22 in the journal Nature.

Cataracts are usually treated by surgically removing the cloudy lenses and replacing them with artificial ones. An organic compound named lanosterol was discovered by the investigator to dissolve the clumped proteins that form the cataract.

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Three dogs that had cloudy eyes were treated with eye drops containing lanosterol for 6 weeks and were observed to have recovered from cataract. Four other dogs that had cataract afflicted eyes were also observed to show improvement when subjected to medication with lanosterol, reported Gizmag.

When clear crystallized proteins that form the lens of eyes clump together it is referred to as cataract, which will result in blurred or cloudy vision. Clumping of the proteins is promoted by factors such as exposure to UV light and aging. It was observed in lab results that lanosterol prevents the clumping of cataract-causing protein in the petri dish as well as cleared cataract lenses that are surgically removed from 13 rabbits.

Dr. Kang Zhang, the lead author of the study and chief of ophthalmic genetics with the Shiley Eye Institute at the University of California, San Diego, said, "The results we have point to a new nonsurgical treatment of cataracts that can be used for people who might have moderate cataracts or do not have access to surgery," according to Philly.

Meanwhile Dr. J. Fielding Hejtmancik, a senior investigator at the U.S. National Eye Institute (NEI) noted that this discovery has open doors for new perspective in cataract research. He also added that with increasing number of cataract patients in the country, the number of surgeries that need to be carried would have been doubled in the next 10 years.

"The same population demographics suggest that, if development of age-related cataracts in susceptible individuals could be delayed by even ten years, the need for surgery could be reduced by almost half ... The potential for this finding to be translated into the first practical pharmacological prevention, or even treatment, of human cataracts could not come at a more opportune time," noted Dr. Hejtmancik, according to The San Diego Tribune.

TagsCataract, Eye Drops, Eye surgery, lanosterol, Cloudy eyes