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New drugs prevent scarring after glaucoma surgery in animal model
A new and “highly innovative” approach to preventing scarring after glaucoma filtering surgery has been successful in an animal model, according to the researchers who developed the treatment.
Sunil Shaunak and colleagues in London are investigating sugar-like molecules called dendrimers that are “designed and engineered to mimic the body’s own immune defense mechanisms,” according to a press release from Imperial College London.
Prof. Shaunak said application of a combination of dendrimers has increased the success rate of glaucoma surgery from 30% to 80% in an animal model.
Two dendrimers, one of which modulates immune responses and one of which suppresses blood vessel growth, are combined to suppress the body’s healing response after glaucoma surgery, according to a press release from Nature Biotechnology, which is publishing the findings of Prof. Shaunak and colleagues. The molecules on these dendrimers are glucosamine and glucosamine 6-sulfate, the press release said.
The study is published in the August issue of Nature Biotechnology.