05/12/2023
The ‘lanosterol eye drops’ that claim to dissolve cataracts have appeared
A study released in July 2015 shows that lanosterol, a natural chemical produced in our bodies, can effectively uncloud cataracts. To date, there have been no medicines known to cure cataracts, and as such, a surgical procedure to remove the opacified lens and replace it with an artificial lens has been the only available option to correct the problem. However, if cataracts could be cured with simple eye drops such as ‘lanosterol eye drops,’ that would greatly reduce the need for cataract surgery to treat the condition. Therefore, there has been a great deal of interest in the findings of the study in the ophthalmological field worldwide.
Dr. Kang Zhang, Professor of Ophthalmology and Chief of Ophthalmic Genetics at UC San Diego, and his research team have found that the organic compound called lanosterol can dissolve protein blocks that cause cataracts and destroy lens opacity. They published their findings in Nature magazine on July 22, 2015.
Their work began with the cases of three children who had a severe cataract condition that ran in the children’s family. The scientists sequenced the children’s genomes and identified a genetic mutation that interfered with the production of lanosterol, a naturally occurring steroid in the body. In addition, the researchers found that lanosterol is used in the body to synthesize cholesterol and several steroid hormones, but the crystalline lens of the eye also contains an abundance of this substance. That clue led them to the decision to test whether lanosterol might have the ability to prevent or even eliminate cataracts.
They first removed the lenses of 13 cataracted rabbits and immersed the lenses in a 25 mM lanosterol solution followed by an incubation period of 6 days. At the end of the 6-day experiment, transparency was significantly improved in the rabbits’ lenses.