Potential Advances in Treatment for Retinal Disease
Researches at Columbia University in New York City have developed eye drops that have the potential of being more effective and viewed as a comfortable therapy for RVO (retinal vein occlusion). RVO affects up to 2% of people over age 40 and occurs when a vein in the retina becomes blocked which leads to swelling in the eye, inflammation, damage to the retina and vision loss.
Conventional therapy entails injecting into the eye a vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitor (anti-VEGF) that reduces swelling. Although this therapy can improve vision, patients with significant retinal damage attributed to impaired blood flow frequently have poor outcomes.
The study described how the experimental eye drop treatment was twice as effective as the standard injection therapy at reducing swelling and improving blood flow within the retina of mice with RVCO. It was found the eye drops also prevented neurons (photoreceptors) in the retina form deteriorating and preserved visual function over time by comparison to the standard injections that had no effect on either. According to Carol M. Troy, MD, PhD, professor of pathology and cell biology and of neurology at Columbia said, “Anti-VEGF therapy has helped a lot of people with RVO, but the fear factor – having to get a needle in the eye – causes many people to delay treatment, which can lead to retinal damage. There’s an opportunity to help more people with the disease that is a leading cause of blindness worldwide.” (1)
Impact of the Eye Drops
The study revealed the eye drops contain an experimental drug that blocks caspase-9, an enzyme that triggers cell death and found to be overactive in blood vessels injured by RVO. Specifically, it was observed the eye drops improve the blood vessels in the retina which then decreases the toxic signaling that damages the retina’s neurons and leads to loss of vision.
It is anticipated future studies will be designed to test the eye drops in human clinical trials and identifying additional therapeutic targets.
- Frontiers of Neuroscience, June 2023
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