A study published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,and conducted by Dr Alessandro Lambiase and colleagues from the University of Rome, the National Research Council, the Gian Battista Bietti Eye Foundation and the European Brain Research Institute.
Investigations were done on the application of nerve growth factor (NGF) on visual symptoms of glaucoma.NGF are proteins that play a role in the survival of nerve cells. Use of this appears to prevent, and even reverse, glaucoma’s characteristic pressure damage to the eyeballs of both rats and humans. This small study has encouraging findings, with humans experiencing improvements in visual clarity and contrast. Two of the patients showed an improvement in their visual field too. However, with only three subjects the study is too small to draw concrete conclusions.Research like this is usually followed by more investigations on potential new treatments, and only the results of long-term, randomised controlled trials will provide definitive answers about the potential benefits of using NGF eye drops.
More details: www.nhs.uk/news/2009/08August/Pages/GlaucomaEyeDropCure.aspx
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