Cell research leads to glaucoma leap forward

New treatments and possible cures for common eye diseases could follow from a discovery at the University of Liverpool.

A team of ophthalmologists led by Professor Ian Grierson has become the first in the world to image geodesic structures called CLANS — believed to play a part in the development of glaucoma — inside the human body.

Experts were previously undecided as to whether these structures existed at all.

CLANS is an acronym for 'cross-linked Actin Networks' that form from components which maintain the structure of individual cells and are known to change the shape, function and life cycle of cultured cells.

They cause cells to become rigid and prevent them from working as they should — and there is a strong possibility that they could play a part in the development of glaucoma.

It is the confirmation of their presence in the trabecular meshwork that could lead to new treatments for glaucoma.

Grierson and his team who are now working to understand the reasons why CLANS form, have likened the shape of each CLAN to the hexagonal design of the framework forming the roofs of the Eden Project in Cornwall.