Drug-dispensing contacted lenses could offer new hope to people suffering from glaucoma, which causes blindness, after they were found to be at least as effective as eye drops.
Researchers say that the lens, which is designed to deliver medication gradually, may improve the treatment of patients who struggle with eye drops, which can be imprecise and difficult to self-administer.
It is estimated that more than 500,000 people in England and Wales have glaucoma, a build-up of pressure on the eye, but many more people may suffer from the condition without having been diagnosed.
Doctor Joseph Ciolino, an ophthalmologist at Harvard Medical School, said: “We found that a lower-dose contact lens delivered the same amount of pressure reduction as the latanoprost drops, and a higher-doselens, interestingly enough, had better pressure reduction than the drops in our small study.
“Based on our preliminary data, the lenses have not only the potential to improve compliance for patients, but also the potential of providing better pressure reduction than the drops.
Eye Contact Opticians specialises in Contact Lenses. To find out more go to http://www.eye-contact.co.uk/contact-lenses/
We’ve also invested over 100k to bring our patients the worlds most advanced retinal imaging technology from Optomap. To find out more go to http://www.eye-contact.co.uk/retinal-imaging/
Retinal imaging can detect sight threatening diseases, such as Glaucoma often years in advance of other methods. If your family has a history of Glaucoma or you just want to find out more, please get in touch http://www.eye-contact.co.uk/contact-us/