New hydrogel contact lens could be a viable therapeutic option for treating corneal melting. The findings of the study are published in the journal ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering.
A team of researchers at the University of New Hampshire have created a hydrogel that could one day be made into a contact lens to more effectively treat corneal melting, a condition that is a significant cause for blindness worldwide.
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‘Hydrogel contact lens could treat corneal melting, a serious eye disease that is a significant cause for blindness worldwide. The hydrogel works locally by deactivating the harmful MMP enzymes in the cornea.’
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The incurable eye disease can be initiated by a number of different causes such as autoimmune diseases (like rheumatoid arthritis, Lupus, or Stevens-Johnson syndrome), chemical burns, or even some surgical procedures (like LASIK and cataract procedures). The patient's cornea melts due to the uncontrolled production of certain zinc-dependent enzymes called matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) by the patient's immune cells in the cornea. To help prevent this, the researchers developed a new hydrogel that deactivates those enzymes by removing the zinc ions.
"Most of the current MMP inhibitors used to treat this condition work by binding to the zinc ions within the MMPs," said Kyung Jae Jeong, assistant professor of chemical engineering at UNH.
![New Contact Lens Patch to Treat Eye Diseases Discovered]( "New Contact Lens Patch to Treat Eye Diseases Discovered")
Newly discovered contact lens patch can help treat severe eye diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration. The microneedles on the eye patch can be loaded with drugs. Worn like contact lenses, the patch is painless and minimally invasive.
"However, once injected into the body, the MMP inhibitors travel through the bloodstream and entire body and can cause severe side effects because they are binding with and deactivating the zinc ions in other tissue. Our hydrogel works entirely different because it is localized, just in the eye, and deactivates MMPs by eliminating the zinc ions from the cornea. And since it would be a contact lens, if there were any issues, the patient would simply remove it."
In their study, the UNH researchers, along with researcher Jung-Jae Lee from the University of Colorado Denver Campus, outline how the hydrogel deactivates MMP-1, MMP-2, and MMP-9 which are the major factors in corneal melting.
The research was done in vitro and ex vivo (on extracted cornea tissue) and suggests that the new hydrogel could be a viable therapeutic option for treating corneal melting.
The end goal is to make the hydrogel into a contact lens that would allow more localized treatment of the eye and avoid side effects in the rest of the body. There is a pending patent which has been filed by UNHInnovation, which advocates for, manages, and promotes UNH's intellectual property.
Source: Eurekalert
New Contact Lens Patch to Treat Eye Diseases Discovered
Newly discovered contact lens patch can help treat severe eye diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration. The microneedles on the eye patch can be loaded with drugs. Worn like contact lenses, the patch is painless and minimally invasive.
Advertisement
"However, once injected into the body, the MMP inhibitors travel through the bloodstream and entire body and can cause severe side effects because they are binding with and deactivating the zinc ions in other tissue. Our hydrogel works entirely different because it is localized, just in the eye, and deactivates MMPs by eliminating the zinc ions from the cornea. And since it would be a contact lens, if there were any issues, the patient would simply remove it."
In their study, the UNH researchers, along with researcher Jung-Jae Lee from the University of Colorado Denver Campus, outline how the hydrogel deactivates MMP-1, MMP-2, and MMP-9 which are the major factors in corneal melting.
The research was done in vitro and ex vivo (on extracted cornea tissue) and suggests that the new hydrogel could be a viable therapeutic option for treating corneal melting.
The end goal is to make the hydrogel into a contact lens that would allow more localized treatment of the eye and avoid side effects in the rest of the body. There is a pending patent which has been filed by UNHInnovation, which advocates for, manages, and promotes UNH's intellectual property.
Source: Eurekalert
Eye Infection in Contact Lens Wearers May Cause Blindness
Are contact lenses safe? Contact lens wearers are warned of Acanthamoeba infection outbreak that could lead to blindness.
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 New 'bandage' Contact Lens can Treat Corneal InjuriesNew therapeutic contact lens has been developed that acts as a bandage for eye surface injuries, which aims to improve treatment for major corneal injuries. | Advertisement
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