Two studies from the Institute of Ophthalmology at University College London have opened up surprising avenues of treatment for serious eye defects.

A team led by Francesca Cordeiro has shown for the first time that key proteins involved in Alzheimer's disease are also implicated in glaucoma, the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Using new technology that they had developed for visualising nerve cell damage in the retina, they demonstrated that the protein β-amyloid, which causes the so-called 'plaque' lesions in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease, also leads to nerve cell death in the retina.

Dr Cordeiro and colleagues, whose work has been funded by the Wellcome Trust since 1996, also showed that three drugs currently being developed that work to prevent the build-up of β-amyloid in the brain can be used to treat glaucoma in animal models, particularly when used in combination with each other. One of these drugs, an antibody to β-amyloid, is similar to a treatment that is currently in phase III clinical trials in Alzheimer's disease. The authors believe that targeting the β-amyloid protein opens a new avenue of treatment in glaucoma: therapy that is especially of benefit to people who continue to lose vision despite adequate control of the pressure inside the eye.

Meanwhile, Astrid Limb and colleagues have identified the presence of a special type of cell in the human eye. These are part of a population of cells known as Müller glia. The cells, which have stem-cell properties, are known to be important in regenerating the retina in zebrafish and restoring vision even after extensive damage.

The researchers were able to develop the cells in vitro into all the types of neuron found in the retina. When tested in rat models, the cells migrated into diseased retinas and took on the characteristics of the surrounding neurons.

Dr Limb believes the cells could be used to regenerate damaged retina in humans. Retinal damage is responsible for the majority of cases of blindness and is caused by diseases including macular degeneration, glaucoma and diabetes.

• Dr Limb's research was jointly funded by the Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Council and the Helen Hamlyn Trust.

See also

Link identified between Alzheimer's disease and glaucoma (press release: 6 August 2007)

External links

• Guo L et al. Targeting amyloid-beta in glaucoma treatment. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2007;104(33):13444–9.
• Lawrence JM et al. MIO-M1 cells and similar muller glial cell lines derived from adult human retina exhibit neural stem cell characteristics. Stem Cells 2007;25(8):2033–43.