American researchers say they have for the first time developed a lens which can deliver a regulated dose of latanoprost, a common glaucoma drug, for up to a month.
The study by Havard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been hailed as a key step forward in the fight against the disease, which affects 480,000 people in Britain.
Glaucoma occurs when the drainage tubes within the eye become slightly blocked preventing eye fluid, aqueous humour, from draining properly. This builds up pressure which can damage the optic nerve.
The condition can be treated with eye drops, laser treatment or surgery, but there is no perfect option.
Cornea specialist Dr Joseph Ciolino said: "In general, eye drops are an inefficient method of drug delivery that has notoriously poor patient adherence. This contact lens design can potentially be used as a treatment for glaucoma and as a platform for other ocular drug delivery applications".
The lenses were designed by encasing a thin film containing the drug inside the edges of the absorbent plastic used to make contact lenses.
Tests found single contact lenses were able to achieve, for one month, latanoprost concentrations in the eye fluid that were comparable to those achieved with eyedrops. The treatment could be combined into contact lenses which patients already wear to correct their eyesight.
Professor Daniel Kohane added: "The lens we have developed is capable of delivering large amounts of drug at substantially constant rates over weeks to months".
Dr Ciolino claimed they could help "save millions from preventable blindness"
The findings were published in the journal Biomaterials.
- Tags: Glaucoma Contact lens Drugs American researchers latanoprost glaucoma drug Havard Medical School Massachusetts Institute of Technology Britain Cornea_specialist_Dr_Joseph_Ciolino Professor_Daniel_Kohane journal_Biomaterials
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