California researchers have come up with special contact lenses to treat glaucoma. Their technology provides an improved way of releasing medication into the patient's eye.
Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) sought to come up with a better way of delivering drugs to glaucoma patients than options currently available, according to Medical News Today. Current medications, typically delivered via eye drops, present three problems.
The drops can cause a variety of side effects, among them light sensitivity, dry eyes, and headaches. Many patients have trouble following their specified medication schedule. In some cases, only 5 percent of the medication arrives at the intended destination in the eye, with some drops inserted so fast that they spill out of the patient's eyes.
The Mayo Clinic reports that glaucoma is not a single disorder, but an umbrella condition that includes a number of eye problems that sometimes result in vision loss. Pressure inside the eye that is above normal can cause damage, making glaucoma one of the top U.S. causes of blindness. Preserving a patient's vision can require both an early diagnosis and early treatment.
According to the Glaucoma Research Foundation, this condition has no cure. Experts estimate that more than 2.2 million Americans suffer from this condition, yet only about 50 percent of them are aware of it. Glaucoma is responsible for 9 to 12 percent of all U.S. cases of blindness. While it's associated most often with patients who are seniors, around 1 of every 10,000 U.S. babies is born with the condition.
The novel lenses represent a combination of medication for glaucoma and nanodiamonds, which industry creates by diamond detonation and collecting the resulting soot, full of diamond particles. The combination of medication and nanodiamonds is embedded in the novel lenses. Once the medication interacts with tears, it releases into the patient's eye.
The tiny nanodiamonds resemble miniature soccer balls. They have the capability of fusing certain drug compounds, then releasing them into the body over an extended period. The UCLA researchers combined timolol maleate, frequently present in glaucoma eye drops, with nanodiamonds. This medication begins to steadily release into the patient's eye as soon as it interacts with an enzyme found in tears.
This technology helps prevent the early release of drugs while the patient is storing his or her contact lenses. Findings of the research, published in the journal ACS Nano, suggest that despite the release of medication, the lenses still provide users with good clarity of vision. Since they have the same water content as other contacts, they allow the correct amount of oxygen to reach the patient's eyes and should be comfortable while worn.
No information is available yet as to when these contact lenses could be available to the public.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/special-contact-lenses-treat-glaucoma-way-174500129.html
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