Cataract patients soon may not need to get surgery, as scientists have developed promising eye drops for the condition.
U.S. researchers have discovered that the chemical called lanosterol reduces the cloudiness over the eye, a characterization of cataracts.
The drops, recommended to be used twice daily, may soon be available in the market within five years, The Telegraph reported.
Scientists discovered the properties of lanosterol by testing them on dogs that have naturally occurring cataracts.
But first, the drops were tested on human lens cells on lab dishes and researchers found that the formulation effectively reduced cataracts, as reported in Science.
The researchers then tested them on the rabbits next and treated them for six days. They found significant improvements on the rabbits' lenses after treatment.
Finally, the researchers tested on dogs and they responded positively to the treatment just as the team hoped. The reduction in cataract size and lens cloudiness in dogs was noticeable just as in the two previous experiments.
Scientists discovered lanosterol, a naturally-occurring steroid, when they observed that children who inherit cataracts have something in common: they had a mutation in their gene that stopped the production of the steroid.
According to Live Science, cataracts usually result when proteins in the lens form in clusters. Lanosterol was then found to help prevent the formation of clusters in healthy eyes.
While the findings seem promising, study co-author Dr. Kang Zhang, who is also an ophthalmologist from the University of California, cautioned that the study is still on its preliminary stages and more work should be done.
However, Zhang told Live Science that the "most important implication" of the study is that cataracts are treatable even without surgery.
Zhang and the team hope to conduct the first human clinical trials in the next couple of years.
The team's findings were published last July 23 in the journal Nature.
