Breakthrough in eye disease treatment

Blinding eye diseases affect more than a million Australians, but scientists have had a breakthrough that could provide a treatment and possibly even a cure.

Researchers from Flinders University have discovered a way to stop blood vessel that could block vision in the eye from growing.

They have created a medication that targets and kills the unwanted vessels.

Yazad Irani from Flinders University told 7News: “We’ve developed a drug that binds to the protein required by blood vessels to survive and this causes them to die.”

The drug would be delivered via an eye drop of in severe cases, and injection to the eye.

“(This will) allow the light to enter the back of the eye by killing blood vessels that are blocking it,” he said.

“This drug could lead to restoration of vision for people who have impaired vision.”

The drug will need extensive laboratory and human trials, so could be several years before it is widely available.

For more information, see this Flinders University blog article.