Coming soon – A contact lens that can cure glaucoma

Here comes a glaucoma medicine sandwiched inside a specially-designed contact lens.

By: Editorial Team | | Published: January 24, 2014 10:40 am

Here comes a glaucoma medicine sandwiched inside a specially-designed contact lens. Also Read - Ganesh Chaturthi 2020: 4 reasons an eco-friendly Ganesha is good for you

The lens, which can also correct vision, releases the eyesight-saving medication at a steady rate for up to a month. Also Read - 7 reasons why the #BeefBan is good

The unique lens offers numerous potential clinical advantages over the standard glaucoma treatment and may have additional applications, such as delivering anti-inflammatory drugs or antibiotics to the eye, says a path-breaking research. Also Read - Air pollution can harm your contact lenses and cause serious eye injuries, say doctors

‘People using traditional eye drops for glaucoma are not getting any symptomatic relief and they’re not seeing better,’ said Joseph Ciolino, an ophthalmologist who, along with his mentor Daniel Kohane, developed the new contact lens at Harvard Medical School.

What makes the new lens different from other prototypes is the many-layered construction that places a ring of drug-releasing film in standard, FDA-approved contact lens materials, said a report by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The team showed in an animal model that their lens delivered the glaucoma medication – latanoprost – safely and consistently for four weeks at concentrations comparable to those achieved with daily eye drops.

The researchers hope a Phase I clinical trial to test the safety and ability of the lens to reduce pressure in the human eye could begin in about a year.

What is Glaucoma? Why is it dangerous?

Glaucoma is a dangerous disorder of the eye affecting the nerve of sight (optic nerve). It happens due to a steady or sudden rise in the eye pressure, akin to blood pressure in your body. It is dangerous because it can affect the eye without symptoms and lead to irreversible loss of vision.

How does it occur?

A fluid called aqueous humor is continously circulating in your eye providing nourishment. In a normal eye, it is produced and drained at a normal rate. In glaucoma due to a blockade in the drainage system, it increases the pressure in the eye. The optic nerve which runs through the eye gets compressed due to the increased pressure. Since this nerve is responsible for taking the visual impulses from the eye to the brain, any pressure on it may cause decrease in vision leading to blindness.

How do I know if I have Glaucoma?

Most of the times, glaucoma presents with no symptoms. Occasional non-specific headaches, eye strain might be there.It is not uncommon to see patients who come in for glasses and end up being diagnosed with glaucoma. It can be diagnosed well only by an eye doctor by measuring the eye pressure. (Read: Glaucoma – beware of its silent attack!)

With inputs from IANS

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Published : January 24, 2014 10:40 am

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