Cataract is the leading cause of blindness among the elderly. They can make vision blurred or misty and can develop in one or both eyes.
The eye disease can also be caused by diabetes, eye injury, exposure to ultraviolet light from sunlight, long-term use of steroid medication, smoking and heavy drinking.
Cataracts are cloudy patches in the lens of the eye that impair vision. But now a team of scientists at Adelaide University in Australia, have created a revolutionary drug that could prevent the clouding that gradually develops over the lens.
This is the first time a non-surgical cure for the debilitating condition has been discovered.
The only treatment for cataract prior to this finding is to have the cloudy lens surgically removed and replaced with a synthetic lens.
The medicine that has been developed by scientists, has shown to significantly slow cataract progression.
‘By using the drug early, you could slow their development so much it would not actually develop,’ according to lead inventor Professor Andrew Abell, who has been working on the project for the past decade.
Dr. Tim Lovell CEO of Calpain Therapeutics said: ‘Our drug could be either drops or a cream that you put in your eyes each night before you go to sleep.
‘Through a routine eye exam, optometrists and ophthalmologists can see the early stages of a cataract forming, likely before the person has any idea they have it.
