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Drug-releasing Contact Lenses deliver
medication more effectively than
eyedrops for glaucoma patients
Newswise — New drug-releasing contact lenses ensure glaucoma patients
and others get correct and consistent
dosages of medication.
This could be a significant improvement on the traditional eyedrops
that ophthalmologists prescribe for these
patients, from which the eye absorbs as
little as 1% of the dose.
These findings have been published in Investigative Ophthalmology &
Visual Science (“A Drug-Eluting Contact
Lens”), a peer-reviewed journal from the
Association for Research in Vision and
Ophthalmology.
“Compliance is the biggest issue addressed here,” said lead researcher
Daniel Kohane, MD, PhD, from Boston’s
Children’s Hospital. “People need to be able
to properly and easily give themselves
medication at home.”
According to the study, several things occur that counteract the
effectiveness of the medicine when
traditional eye drops are used. Eyedrops are
composed of an initial overdose that is
followed by an extended period of underdose.
Only a minimal amount of the dose is actually absorbed by the eye. The
rest either runs down the sides of the
patient’s face, is washed away by reflex
tearing or dispersed by blinking.
The prototype is like a jelly doughnut; the lens is the pastry outside
and the polymer film is the gooey middle. By
constantly “oozing out” medicine, the
artificial lens is capable of delivering the
proper dosage and increasing the
effectiveness of treatment. This increase in
effectiveness will be especially welcomed by
glaucoma patients, who on average administer
their drops accurately at rates between 41%
and 76%.
Not only does the lens prototype replace the sudden splash of the eye
drops with a mechanism that constantly
delivers medication, but it may be fitted
for any dosage of medicine and synced with a
person’s current contact lens prescription.
“We expect this prototype to completely
change the way people receive ocular
medication,” said Kohane.
The researchers
are taking next steps to begin FDA approval
proceedings.
This research was supported by The National Institute of Health, Fight
for Sight, the Johnson & Johnson Young
Investigator Award, the Boston
Keratoprosthesis Fund and the Massachusetts
Eye and Ear Infirmary.
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science is a peer-reviewed publication of the Association for Research in
Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO).
ARVO is the largest eye and vision research organization in the world.
Members include more than 12,600 eye and
vision researchers from 81 countries.
The
Association encourages and assists research,
training, publication and dissemination of
knowledge in vision and ophthalmology. For
more information, visit
www.arvo.org.
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