Sight-saving eye drops could replac

Sight-saving eye drops could replace injections
Drug treatments for diseases that cause blindness could be delivered by eye drops instead of uncomfortable and costly eye injections, say UK researchers.
The team reports how it tested this innovation on animals in the nanotechnology journal Small.

The breakthrough could make a huge difference to the millions of people worldwide who, like author Stephen King and actress Dame Judi Dench, suffer from blindness-causing diseases like age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which affects 20% of people over the age of 75.

The number of people with AMD and similar disorders is rising steeply, as is the demand for eye injections of the drugs that halt disease progress.

Injections to the eye are not only deeply unpleasant for patients, they are time-consuming, expensive and difficult to administer. There is also a risk of infection and bleeding.

In 2010, over 1 million eye injections were performed in the US. In the UK, estimates show about 30,500 were given in 2008, representing a 150-fold increase from 10 years before.

Not having eye injections would be great relief for patients

Lead author Francesca Cordeiro, a professor in the Institute of Ophthalmology at University College London (UCL), says it is "impossible to exaggerate the relief patients would feel at not having to experience injections into their eyes."

She explains that the current treatment of injecting the drugs into the eye is very uncomfortable, and patients hate it. They often have to go to the hospital to receive the injections every month for 2 years.

"The development of eye drops that can be safely and effectively used in patients would be a magic bullet," she adds, saying it would be "a huge breakthrough in the treatment of AMD and other debilitating eye disorders."

Researchers showed nanoparticles can deliver drugs through cornea to retina
The study is a breakthrough because it has been extremely challenging to find a way to deliver drugs to the retina. Before this study, it was thought the molecules of drugs like Avastin and Lucentis, used to treat AMD, were too big to be transported through to the retina in eye drops.

But in their study, the team showed how they could get nanoparticles loaded with Avastin to deliver significant concentrations to the back of the eyes of rats and rabbits.

The study shows that Avastin can be transported across the cells of the cornea into the back of the eye, where it stops blood vessels from leaking and forming new blood vessels, the basis for wet AMD.

In theory, say the researchers, you could adapt the technology for use with other drugs like Lucentis, commonly used in the UK to treat AMD. Lucentis is a smaller molecule than Avastin.

Kết quả (Việt) 1:

Thuốc nhỏ mắt cảnh tiết kiệm có thể thay thế tiêmThuốc điều trị cho các bệnh gây mù có thể được cung cấp bởi thuốc nhỏ mắt thay vì khó chịu và tốn kém mắt tiêm, nói rằng các nhà nghiên cứu UK. Nhóm nghiên cứu báo cáo như thế nào nó thử nghiệm sự đổi mới này trên động vật trong tạp chí công nghệ nano nhỏ.Sự đột phá có thể làm cho một sự khác biệt rất lớn cho hàng triệu người trên thế giới những người, như tác giả Stephen King và nữ diễn viên Dame Judi Dench, bị mù gây bệnh như liên quan đến tuổi thoái hóa điểm vàng (AMD), mà ảnh hưởng đến 20% của những người độ tuổi 75.Số người với AMD và tương tự như rối loạn đang tăng lên dốc, như nhu cầu cho mắt tiêm các loại thuốc ngăn chặn bệnh tiến bộ.Tiêm mắt không chỉ sâu khó chịu cho bệnh nhân, họ là tốn thời gian, tốn kém và khó khăn để quản lý. Đó cũng là một nguy cơ nhiễm trùng và chảy máu.Trong năm 2010, 1 triệu mắt tiêm đã được thực hiện tại Hoa Kỳ. Ở Anh, thị trấn này có ước tính cho khoảng 30,500 đã được đưa ra trong năm 2008, đại diện cho một sự gia tăng 150-fold từ 10 năm trước.Không có mắt tiêm sẽ cứu trợ tuyệt vời cho bệnh nhânChì tác giả Francesca Cordeiro, một giáo sư tại viện nhãn khoa tại Đại học College London (UCL), nói rằng nó là "không thể để exaggerate cứu trợ bệnh nhân sẽ cảm thấy lúc không có kinh nghiệm các mũi tiêm vào mắt của họ."She explains that the current treatment of injecting the drugs into the eye is very uncomfortable, and patients hate it. They often have to go to the hospital to receive the injections every month for 2 years."The development of eye drops that can be safely and effectively used in patients would be a magic bullet," she adds, saying it would be "a huge breakthrough in the treatment of AMD and other debilitating eye disorders."Researchers showed nanoparticles can deliver drugs through cornea to retinaThe study is a breakthrough because it has been extremely challenging to find a way to deliver drugs to the retina. Before this study, it was thought the molecules of drugs like Avastin and Lucentis, used to treat AMD, were too big to be transported through to the retina in eye drops.But in their study, the team showed how they could get nanoparticles loaded with Avastin to deliver significant concentrations to the back of the eyes of rats and rabbits.The study shows that Avastin can be transported across the cells of the cornea into the back of the eye, where it stops blood vessels from leaking and forming new blood vessels, the basis for wet AMD.In theory, say the researchers, you could adapt the technology for use with other drugs like Lucentis, commonly used in the UK to treat AMD. Lucentis is a smaller molecule than Avastin.