NIH-led studies point to potential development of a cataract drug

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Findings in animals suggest a surgery-free treatment for cataracts

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and their collaborators have identified a protein, known as RNF114, that reverses cataracts, a clouding of the eye’s lens that occurs commonly in people as they age. The study, which was conducted in the 13-lined ground squirrel and rats, may represent a possible surgery-free strategy for managing cataracts, a common cause of vision loss. The study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

“Scientists have long searched for an alternative to cataract surgery, which is effective, but not without risk. Lack of access to cataract surgery is a barrier to care in some parts of the world, causing untreated cataracts to be a leading cause of blindness worldwide,” said Xingchao Shentu, M.D., a cataract surgeon and the co-lead investigator from Zhejiang University, China.

This new discovery was part of ongoing research at NIH’s National Eye Institute (NEI) involving a mammalian hibernator, the 13-lined ground squirrel. In these ground squirrels, the light-sensitive photoreceptor cells in the retina are mostly cones, which makes the ground squirrel helpful for studying cone-related properties, such as color vision. In addition, the squirrel’s ability to withstand months of cold and metabolic stress during hibernation make it model for vision scientists to study a range of eye diseases.