Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have developed a new eye drop as a potential therapy to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Study results were published in Cell Reports Medicine. The eye drops contain a protein called End Binding-3 (EB-3). Researchers discovered that EBIN protects neovascular cells from the effects of environmental stress. The drops were tested in mice and non-human primates that had wet AMD and it was determined that a twice-daily dosing reduced eye damage within two to three weeks of starting treatment.
The current available therapies available to treat wet AMD involve intravitreal injections delivered every month to the back of the eye. The EBIN drops would offer a huge advantage over the invasive and costly injections and would also remove the necessity of visiting a doctor's office. The research team, however, is exploring the possibility of creating an implantable lens that would deliver EBIN to the eye more efficiently.
