This is a very special edition of Akler Eye Center news. We are celebrating our 5th anniversary this month. It is hard to believe how quickly the years have flown by! I want to think everyone for their support and for the privilege of taking care of your most precious organ – your eyes!!
Cataracts are the commonest cause of worldwide blindness, affecting tens of millions of people. Cataracts are caused when the normally clear crystalline proteins in the lens begin to clump together, causing the lens to become cloudy, blurring of the vision. Currently the only treatment for cataracts is cataract surgery, where the cloudy lens is replaced by an artificial lens.
Dr. Zhang and colleagues studied a family with congenital cataracts (where cataracts are inherited and develop early in a family) and discovered that this family did not synthesize a compound called lanosterol, hence causing early cataract formation. Further, he gave eye drops containing lanosterol to 7 dogs with cataracts for 6 weeks, and all the dogs showed either partial or complete resolution of the cataracts.
This is very interesting early research on alternate cataract treatments. Future directions will focus on preparing for trials in humans with the hope that this type of treatment may be useful to prevent cataracts from forming.
If you have questions about your cataracts, contact us for a free consultation.
Source: Nature, 523, 540-41, published online 22 July 2015
Michelle Akler, MD
Akler Eye Center
Sterling Heights & Dearborn
Akler Eye Center is one of the top laser eye & LASIK surgery centers in Detroit, Michigan.
