Scientists may have found a way to prevent complications from surgery to treat cataract following a study part-funded by eye research charity Fight for Sight.
Research published by the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the open access journal Scientific Reports investigated ways to manage ‘posterior capsule opacification’ or secondary cataract. It was estimated that by the year 2020, 32 million people will need cataract surgery.
The study was led by Dr Michael Wormstone from UEA’s School of Biological Sciences.
He said: ‘Secondary visual loss responds well to treatment with laser surgery. But as life-expectancy increases, the problems of cataract and posterior capsule opacification will become even greater in terms of both patient well-being and economic burden. It’s essential that we find better ways to manage the condition in future.’
Newer artificial lenses were being designed to be placed into a capsular bag that stays open, instead of shrink-wrapping closed. The thinking was that if fluid in the eye (aqueous humour) can flow around the artificial lens, it will dilute and wash away the cell-signalling molecules that encourage re-growth, a statement explained.
Researchers took a two-pronged approach, using human cells and tissue. They first tested the idea that diluting growth factor can prevent cells invading the posterior capsule. They also aimed to understand more about which growth factors drive the process with a view to developing a future drug treatment.
‘Our results show that reducing the amount of growth factor that’s available around the intraocular lens significantly impedes cell invasion and adds to the evidence in favour of open-bag cataract surgery,’ added Dr Wormstone. ‘Moreover, we found that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays an important role in cell growth and survival. Therefore, we believe that anti-VEGF treatment is a logical target for new drug treatments that could help enhance the effect of better lens design and placement, to prevent secondary cataract.’
Follow-up work from the group will be presented at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology annual meeting (ARVO 2016) taking place in Seattle from May 1-5.