Scientists in California are investigating a naturally occurring steroid called lanosterol that could be used one day to treatcataracts. It may be possible one day to use lanosterol in the form of a topical eye drop to reduce cataract development.Lanosterol eye drops could potentially be a safe, non-invasive, and less costly alternative to cataract surgery for patients who have moderate forms of cataracts.
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What Are Cataracts?
According to the World Health Organization, cataracts are the leading cause of blindness among people older than 55.Gradual cataract development occurs as a part of the normal aging process, and it is rare to find a complete absence of cataracts in older individuals.
A cataract is a clouding or loss of transparency in the eye’s lens.The human lensis composed of crystalline proteins. These proteins act to keep the lens clear.
Cataracts can develop if the proteins become disrupted, clump together, and break down, which is common with advancing age.Cataracts affect vision and cause images to appear cloudy, fuzzy, or blurry. It’s similar to looking through a foggy window.
An Overview of Eye Tumors
For some people, cataracts can be more severe or may develop prematurely.
Risk factors and causes include:
Cataract Surgery
Cataracts are usually treated withcataract surgery. Cataract surgery involves extracting the cataract and inserting a new, clear lens implant in its place.The procedure is usually performed under local anesthesia on an outpatient basis, taking less than an hour in most cases.
Recovery from cataract surgery normally takes around four to eight weeks. During your recovery period, you will need to return to your surgeon for a series of follow-up visits. They will check your eyes to make sure you aren’t developing an infection and make sure your eyes are healing properly
Eyedrops for Cataract Treatment
Research showed:
Lanosterol was able to significantly shrink the size of cataracts and improve lens transparency.Scientists caution that more research is needed before deeming the drops as a safe and effective treatment for cataracts in humans. It could be a very exciting discovery. Because cataracts will most likely affect almost all of us, we will probably hear more about lanosterol research and development.
Lanosterol is not an approved treatment for cataracts at this time and is still being studied in experimental settings.
A Word From VeryWell
Treating cataracts with eye drops instead of having cataract surgery might one day be a possibility in the future. Scientists are working to examine the possible risks and benefits of using lanosterol as a non-invasive alternative to cataract surgery.
Eye Drops for Cataracts
11 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Optometric Association.Could eye drops be an alternative treatment to cataract surgery?World Health Organization.Blindness and vision impairment.Michael R, Bron AJ.The ageing lens and cataract: a model of normal and pathological ageing.Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2011;366(1568):1278–1292. doi:10.1098/rstb.2010.0300Moreau KL, King JA.Protein misfolding and aggregation in cataract disease and prospects for prevention.Trends Mol Med. 2012;18(5):273–282. doi:10.1016/j.molmed.2012.03.005Gupta VB, Rajagopala M, Ravishankar B.Etiopathogenesis of cataract: an appraisal.Indian J Ophthalmol. 2014;62(2):103–110. doi:10.4103/0301-4738.121141Office of the Surgeon General (US).Other Effects. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General.Davis G.The evolution of cataract surgery.Mo Med. 2016;113(1):58–62. PMID: 27039493Kook D, Kampik A, Dexl AK, et al.Advances in lens implant technology.F1000 Med Rep. 2013;5:3. doi:10.3410/M5-3Song Z, Si N, Xiao W.A novel mutation in the CRYAA gene associated with congenital cataract and microphthalmia in a Chinese family.BMC Med Genet. 2018;19(1):190. doi:10.1186/s12881-018-0695-5Sanchez RF, Everson R, Hedley J, et al.Rabbits with naturally occurring cataracts referred for phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation: a preliminary study of 12 cases.Vet Ophthalmol. 2018;21(4):399-412. doi:10.1111/vop.12525Zhao L, Chen XJ, Zhu J, et al.Lanosterol reverses protein aggregation in cataracts.Nature. 2015;523(7562):607-11. doi:10.1038/nature14650Additional ReadingShen X, Zhu M, Kang L, et al.Lanosterol synthase pathway alleviates lens opacity in age-related cortical cataract.J Ophthalmol. 2018;2018:4125893. doi:10.1155/2018/4125893
11 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Optometric Association.Could eye drops be an alternative treatment to cataract surgery?World Health Organization.Blindness and vision impairment.Michael R, Bron AJ.The ageing lens and cataract: a model of normal and pathological ageing.Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2011;366(1568):1278–1292. doi:10.1098/rstb.2010.0300Moreau KL, King JA.Protein misfolding and aggregation in cataract disease and prospects for prevention.Trends Mol Med. 2012;18(5):273–282. doi:10.1016/j.molmed.2012.03.005Gupta VB, Rajagopala M, Ravishankar B.Etiopathogenesis of cataract: an appraisal.Indian J Ophthalmol. 2014;62(2):103–110. doi:10.4103/0301-4738.121141Office of the Surgeon General (US).Other Effects. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General.Davis G.The evolution of cataract surgery.Mo Med. 2016;113(1):58–62. PMID: 27039493Kook D, Kampik A, Dexl AK, et al.Advances in lens implant technology.F1000 Med Rep. 2013;5:3. doi:10.3410/M5-3Song Z, Si N, Xiao W.A novel mutation in the CRYAA gene associated with congenital cataract and microphthalmia in a Chinese family.BMC Med Genet. 2018;19(1):190. doi:10.1186/s12881-018-0695-5Sanchez RF, Everson R, Hedley J, et al.Rabbits with naturally occurring cataracts referred for phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation: a preliminary study of 12 cases.Vet Ophthalmol. 2018;21(4):399-412. doi:10.1111/vop.12525Zhao L, Chen XJ, Zhu J, et al.Lanosterol reverses protein aggregation in cataracts.Nature. 2015;523(7562):607-11. doi:10.1038/nature14650Additional ReadingShen X, Zhu M, Kang L, et al.Lanosterol synthase pathway alleviates lens opacity in age-related cortical cataract.J Ophthalmol. 2018;2018:4125893. doi:10.1155/2018/4125893
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
American Optometric Association.Could eye drops be an alternative treatment to cataract surgery?World Health Organization.Blindness and vision impairment.Michael R, Bron AJ.The ageing lens and cataract: a model of normal and pathological ageing.Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2011;366(1568):1278–1292. doi:10.1098/rstb.2010.0300Moreau KL, King JA.Protein misfolding and aggregation in cataract disease and prospects for prevention.Trends Mol Med. 2012;18(5):273–282. doi:10.1016/j.molmed.2012.03.005Gupta VB, Rajagopala M, Ravishankar B.Etiopathogenesis of cataract: an appraisal.Indian J Ophthalmol. 2014;62(2):103–110. doi:10.4103/0301-4738.121141Office of the Surgeon General (US).Other Effects. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General.Davis G.The evolution of cataract surgery.Mo Med. 2016;113(1):58–62. PMID: 27039493Kook D, Kampik A, Dexl AK, et al.Advances in lens implant technology.F1000 Med Rep. 2013;5:3. doi:10.3410/M5-3Song Z, Si N, Xiao W.A novel mutation in the CRYAA gene associated with congenital cataract and microphthalmia in a Chinese family.BMC Med Genet. 2018;19(1):190. doi:10.1186/s12881-018-0695-5Sanchez RF, Everson R, Hedley J, et al.Rabbits with naturally occurring cataracts referred for phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation: a preliminary study of 12 cases.Vet Ophthalmol. 2018;21(4):399-412. doi:10.1111/vop.12525Zhao L, Chen XJ, Zhu J, et al.Lanosterol reverses protein aggregation in cataracts.Nature. 2015;523(7562):607-11. doi:10.1038/nature14650
American Optometric Association.Could eye drops be an alternative treatment to cataract surgery?
World Health Organization.Blindness and vision impairment.
Michael R, Bron AJ.The ageing lens and cataract: a model of normal and pathological ageing.Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2011;366(1568):1278–1292. doi:10.1098/rstb.2010.0300
Moreau KL, King JA.Protein misfolding and aggregation in cataract disease and prospects for prevention.Trends Mol Med. 2012;18(5):273–282. doi:10.1016/j.molmed.2012.03.005
Gupta VB, Rajagopala M, Ravishankar B.Etiopathogenesis of cataract: an appraisal.Indian J Ophthalmol. 2014;62(2):103–110. doi:10.4103/0301-4738.121141
Office of the Surgeon General (US).Other Effects. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General.
Davis G.The evolution of cataract surgery.Mo Med. 2016;113(1):58–62. PMID: 27039493
Kook D, Kampik A, Dexl AK, et al.Advances in lens implant technology.F1000 Med Rep. 2013;5:3. doi:10.3410/M5-3
Song Z, Si N, Xiao W.A novel mutation in the CRYAA gene associated with congenital cataract and microphthalmia in a Chinese family.BMC Med Genet. 2018;19(1):190. doi:10.1186/s12881-018-0695-5
Sanchez RF, Everson R, Hedley J, et al.Rabbits with naturally occurring cataracts referred for phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation: a preliminary study of 12 cases.Vet Ophthalmol. 2018;21(4):399-412. doi:10.1111/vop.12525
Zhao L, Chen XJ, Zhu J, et al.Lanosterol reverses protein aggregation in cataracts.Nature. 2015;523(7562):607-11. doi:10.1038/nature14650
Shen X, Zhu M, Kang L, et al.Lanosterol synthase pathway alleviates lens opacity in age-related cortical cataract.J Ophthalmol. 2018;2018:4125893. doi:10.1155/2018/4125893
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