FREE RADICALS CAN DAMAGE YOUR EYES
Products for the view
Scientists have found that free radicals (unstable molecules that cause cell death with aging of the body) are responsible for damage to the eyes of patients with Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD), a hereditary disease that is one of the reasons more common for corneal transplants worldwide.
The finding, published in the American Journal of Pathology, is promising for the prevention of this disease, which affects nearly 4% of the population over 60 years.
"Our finding is significant because it gives us the first hope for slowing the progression of the disease," says Dr. V. Ula Jurkunas, the principal investigator of this study, who is a scientist at the Schepens Eye Research Institute and a corneal surgeon at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. "If we can identify how free radicals are involved in this process and how antioxidants can fight them, we can find a solution that can help protect the cornea," he adds. "Antioxidants are molecules, such as vitamins or some proteins that bind and neutralize free radicals."
The FECD destroys the cells of the endothelial layer and the deeper ones of the cornea, the transparent tissue that forms the anterior portion of the eye. These endothelial cells are equipped with pumps to expel excess water from the cornea and keep it clear. Without these cells, the cornea swells and gets fogged vision, and, in more advanced stages, vision is completely blocked.
Since the corneal endothelial cells do not regenerate, the only effective treatment for Fuchs has so far been the transplantation of the cornea, in which the surgeon removes the layer of the patient's cornea and replaces it with the endothelium of the donor.
According Jurkunas, the next step is to identify the specific antioxidant capable of neutralizing the free radicals involved in the process and prevent or block their destructive action.
What should patients do in the meantime? Although one should not draw conclusions from these first results, Jurkunas recommended that patients at risk for Fuchs to choose a healthy diet, rich in green leafy vegetables such as broccoli and Brussels sprouts, take multivitamins and protect from UV rays.
Products for the view