Page 26 - The Indian Optician Digital Edition July-August 2024
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A NEW PHOTOTHERAPY TECHNIQUE SHOWS
PROMISE IN TREATING OCULAR MELANOMA
Researchers from the Optics and Photonics resulted in complete tumour eradication in the
Research Centre (CePOF) in Brazil, in collaboration mouse models.
with the University of Toronto and Princess This new approach was particularly effective
Margaret Cancer Centre in Canada, have against pigmented tumours, with melanin playing
developed a novel phototherapy technique for a crucial role in the treatment’s success. The
treating ocular melanoma. Their study, published procedure also demonstrated safety and selectivity,
in the Proceedings of the National Academy of preserving adjacent structures and potentially
Sciences, demonstrates the successful elimination enhancing the immune response against cancer
of ocular melanoma in mice. cells.
The researchers have overcome challenges in While the findings are promising, further
treating melanoma with photodynamic therapy by studies, including human trials, are needed
using a femtosecond pulsed laser. This technology before the treatment can be applied clinically.
delivers ultrafast bursts of high-energy light, Researchers are also developing specialised
precisely targeting the cancerous cells while instruments to facilitate future use, potentially
minimising damage to surrounding healthy tissue. offering a more effective and less invasive option
The technique, which used the drug Visudyne, for treating ocular melanoma.
DIABETES STUDY ON DELAYED EYE HEALING
A study published in the peer-reviewed journal product of the WNT5A gene was suppressed. In
Diabetologia has revealed how diabetes delays diabetic samples, they also found an increase in
healing in the eye. the microRNA that inhibits WNT5A.
In a study conducted on patients with The research team then induced wounds to
advanced diabetes, it was noticed that corneal corneal cells in culture and corneal organ cultures,
stem cells become dysfunctional, and the cornea and tested three interventions designed to
heals partially and more slowly after an injury or normalise Wnt-5a protein expression. They added
post procedures such as cataract surgery and laser the Wnt-5a protein directly; they introduced a DNA
treatment for diabetic retinopathy. methylation inhibitor, originally approved to treat
The study also acknowledged for the first time cancer; and they targeted microRNA levels with a
two related disease-associated changes to the novel gene therapy approach using a nanoscale
cornea, three therapeutic pathways that reversed compound.
these changes and partially restored wound- All three therapeutic methods, in the diabetic
healing function to the cornea. samples, stimulated stem cell marker production
The new research also identified an important and improved tissue regeneration, accelerating
role of Wnt-5a, a secreted signalling protein wound healing.
accountable for corneal wound healing and “Our goal is to develop topical, sustained-release
the function of stem cells – cells capable of drugs for corneal wound healing,” said Alexander
differentiating into many cell types. Ljubimov, director of the Eye Programme at
For the study, the team compared cells from Cedars. “Drugs that are FDA (Food and Drug
the corneas from six diabetic patients with those Administration) approved and could be easily
of five healthy donors. The results of their study applied may be one of the most promising
showed that in diabetic corneas, the protein approaches for effective future therapies.”
22 | THE INDIAN OPTICIAN | JULY-AUGUST 2024 OPHTHALMIC NEWS
