Diseases of the retina are a major cause of low vision and blindness. In the case of a retinal detachment, a disease that affects between 10 and 55 people out of 100,000 each year, surgical techniques do not yet allow us to regain complete vision and daily life remains greatly altered.
Also, the discovery by Inserm researchers, which has just been published in the journal Science Advances, will it bring hope for patients with retinal diseases. During work with the ophthalmology department at Necker Hospital (Paris), researchers discovered that transferrin, a natural protein that binds iron, could preserve vision in patients with retinal detachment.
Too much iron in the eye affects vision
The ironis an important biological component for the proper functioning of our organism. But when iron builds up in the eye, it is believed to cause bad reactions and various forms of retinal degeneration. In their study, the researchers managed to show that transferrin counterbalances these effects. To go further, they even tested the hypothesis of transferrin supplementation (in the form of a local ocular injection) as an adjunct to surgery to improve the quality of vision of patients. The tests were carried out on animal models.
“The results are very promising. This implies that transferrin could be a new treatment for degenerative diseases of the retina.” specifies Emilie Picard, main author of the study.
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