January 11, 2019
A Franco-Swiss team of researchers discovered that the excessive presence of iron in the eye during many diseases of the retina could be the cause of vision loss, but that the natural iron-binding protein, transferrin, would counteract this effect.
Toxic buildup of iron in the eye during retinal disease
According to a recent study carried out by researchers from Inserm and the ophthalmology service for children and adults of the Necker-Enfants Malades hospital AP-HP and published in the journal Science Advances, ua toxic accumulation of iron in the eye would be present during diseases of the retina, sometimes leading to poor vision or even blindness.
” The role of iron in retinal degeneration has long been suspected, mBut we had never been able to demonstrate a direct relationship, in humans, between the amount of iron present in the eye and visual functions », Explains Professor Francine Behar-Cohen, main author of the study.
Give transferrin into the eye to neutralize excess iron
In this new study, Inserm researchers not only assessed the presence of iron in the eye as a predictive marker for retinal detachment, but also as a therapeutic target for the disease, Inserm specifies in its press release. Indeed, they tested the hypothesis of transferrin, the natural iron-binding protein, in rats and mice to neutralize excess iron. ” Successful in causing over 60% of visual cell survival »Explains Francine Behar-Cohen.
For Émilie Picard, Inserm researcher in charge of the study, “ these results are very promising, all degenerative diseases of the retina are associated with an accumulation of iron. That implies that transferrin could be a new treatment for these diseases which are frequently cumulative and disabling »And thus improve the visual quality of patients.
Aurélie Giraud
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