Blindness may no longer be a threat for millions suffering from two devastating eye diseases.
A new study possibly brings hope to the nearly 20 million Americans afflicted with age-related macular degeneration and the close to 100,000 with retinitis pigmentosa. Researchers have developed a novel therapy that could “considerably delay” vision loss.
Frequent Shots Only Option for Blinding Eye Diseases
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis pigmentosa (RP) significantly threaten vision, especially in older adults. AMD affects the central retina’s macula and is a leading cause of blindness in those over 65. RP is a genetic disorder causing progressive photoreceptor death, initially causing night blindness but eventually total vision loss.
Treatment options involve injecting anti-inflammatory drugs into the eye to prevent further damage. However, effectiveness is limited by drug retention time, requiring frequent injections.
While available treatments aren’t cures, they allow patients to keep seeing for life with monthly or bimonthly shots, Dr. Khurram Chaudhary, vitreoretinal surgeon and director of retina service at Stony Brook Medicine in New York, told The Epoch Times.
There are two AMD types: wet and dry. Wet AMD treatment still has room for improvement, he noted.
The FDA approved two promising but imperfect dry AMD medications in 2023, Dr. Chaudhury said. Medicine remains in the early stages for wet AMD, he added. Shots are still needed monthly or bimonthly for dry AMD.
Hydrogel May Cut Down on AMD, RP Injections
The new research from Seoul National University’s Brain Science Institute involved in vitro experiments and an animal study, successfully incorporating anti-inflammatory drugs into a hydrogel. This suppresses retinal inflammation and more effectively delivers the medications to inflamed areas. The findings were published in Nature’s npj Regenerative Medicine journal.
The newly developed hydrogel enables slow, sustained anti-inflammatory release over time, reducing injection frequency.
The hydrogel targets an inflammatory factor called EZH2, which contributes to retinal degeneration, alongside delivering anti-inflammatories. Though still injected into the eye, the hydrogel gradually degrades in environments with the enzyme cathepsin, which is prevalent in inflammation. This results in inflammation-responsive, sustained drug release.
“The idea is that how much medication is being released can be controlled based on the inflammation,” Dr. Chaudhary said. “That means that these patients can get fewer injections throughout the year.”
Hydrogel Allows Inflammation-Based Dosing
When administered to mice with retinal degeneration, the hydrogel reduced inflammatory factors to 6.1 percent. It also showed a fourfold increase in protective effects crucial for preserving vision.
The hydrogel’s hyaluronic acid base mimics the eye’s vitreous humor properties, potentially enabling personalized treatment based on patients’ photoreceptor degradation rate.
It is like an inflammation-responsive medication release in the eye, Dr. Chaudhary said. With minimal inflammation, the hydrogel slowly degrades, releasing a little medication. But with more inflammation, the hydrogel rapidly degrades, releasing more medication.
This novel delivery system could benefit other retinal diseases, according to the study authors. They plan to digitize this process for future commercialization and improved efficiency and access for patients.