Highly innovative new drugs that can prevent scarring in the eye
after glaucoma surgery have been discovered by a London-based
team of scientists, who report today in the journal Nature
Biotechnology.* By targeting more than one aspect of the
scarring process at the same time, the team has been able to use
the drugs safely and successfully in animal models of glaucoma
surgery. The group includes scientists and clinicians from
Imperial College London at Hammersmith Hospital, the Institute
of Ophthalmology at University College London, Moorfields Eye
Hospital, and The School of Pharmacy, University of London.
Glaucoma is the most important cause of irreversible blindness
worldwide, affecting more than half a million people in the UK
alone. It is caused by increased fluid pressure within the eye
compressing the nerves at the back of the eye. This pressure
then causes irreversible damage to the optic nerve at the back
of the eye. Patients require surgery to create a new channel in
the eye to drain away the excess