In medicine, it is not uncommon
to use the same type of medicine for different diseases. In fact, there is an
entire line of research dedicated to investigating how to make old treatments
suitable for new diseases. One area that has been receiving particular
attention recently is the use of cholesterol-lowering drugs for various
eye-disorders.
According to a recently published
study, there is potential for cholesterol treatment (in the form of eye-drops)
to prevent macular degeneration. It is known that high cholesterol has an
effect on the immune system, which in turn appears to affect various stages of
macular degeneration. Essentially, macular degeneration occurs as a result of
light-sensing cells becoming damaged. Following that, it can progress to a more
aggressive form where new blood vessels can cause blindness. The former is
known as the dry version, whereas the latter is known as the wet version.
In the study, which was published
in the journal Cell Metabolism, the
researchers investigated the evolution from the dry version to the wet version
of macular degeneration. All of their research was conducted on animal models.
Their surprising finding indicated that the so-called macrophages played a key
role in worsening the condition. Rather than protecting blood cells by eating
fatty deposits and returning them to the blood, they became “bloated”. As a
result the area would get inflamed, which in turn necessitated the creation of
new blood vessels. Given that blood fats cause hardened blood arteries, the
researchers urged for future studies to consider whether it is possible to use
cholesterol-lowering eye-drops to prevent or reduce the generation of fat around
the macula. This news was cautiously welcomed by several charities for visually
impaired individuals who maintained that the findings are in their early
stages.
We
are inclined to agree. Although the consequences of macular degeneration are undesirable,
we see little research to date to leap to developing treatments based on a
handful of studies. Nevertheless, it has opened up a pathway worth
investigating and we do hope that it proves fruitful.