Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Eye Drops Could Dissolve Cataracts

Posted by timothy on from the use-a-strong-enough-acid dept.

An anonymous reader writes: As Slashdot readers age, more and more will be facing surgery for cataracts. The lack of cataract surgery in much of the world is a major cause of blindness. Researchers at University of California San Diego have identified lanosterol as a key molecule in the prevention of cataract formation that points to a novel strategy for cataract prevention and non-surgical treatment. The abstract is freely available from Nature. If you have cataracts, you might want to purchase a full reprint while you can still read it.

2 of 70 comments (clear)

  1. Interesting by spineboy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    While cataract surgery isn't a big deal, it still is surgery, requiring cutting of the eye, replacing the lens, etc.

    Part of the aging process of the eye also makes it stiffer, producing presbyopia (Far sightedness). I wonder if these drops will also affect that as well. Now that I'm on the high side of 40, I've noticed this in my own eyes, and it is quite irritating.

    --
    ..........FULL STOP.
  2. What a shitty summary by rebelwarlock · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If you have cataracts, you might want to purchase a full reprint while you can still read it.

    The summary is only five sentences long, and you had to use one to be an asshole?