Glaucoma remedy in sight

A SIMPLE treatment for glaucoma could be in sight after scientists made blind mice see.

In experiments, they tricked the damaged visual system into rebuilding itself by making the mice stare at changing patterns. This paves the way for the development of special spectacles to help restore the sight of patients with glaucoma – the world’s second-biggest cause of blindness.

The study from Stanford University in California involved mice with a glaucoma-like condition, where the vital link between the brain and eye had been damaged in one eye.

The cells in the optic nerve cannot normally regenerate, so such damage results in the permanent loss of vision.

But when the researchers placed the mice in a chamber that showed them films of moving black and white lines for several hours a day, the cells started to grow.

When the team boosted levels of a key protein and made the creatures shut their good eye, the results were stunning.

The cells, or neurons, in the optic nerve grew by 1.27cm – 500 times faster than untreated cells. They also connected to the right regions of the brain, restoring vision, states the journal Nature Medicine.

In humans, the cells in the optic nerve would have to grow as much as 20cm to restore vision. Researchers are refining the technique and hope to test it on people in five years. – Daily Mail