Cataract And Lens Aging Study With The Dynamic Light Sca

白内障是世界上最主要的致盲原因，目前只能通过手术切除来治疗。尽管手术在美国容易获得且安全进行，但在亚洲、非洲、中东和南美洲等世界许多不发达地区，手术并不容易获得，也不安全进行。因此，我们正在研究非手术治疗白内障的方法，一种新的设备有望帮助我们找出可能导致白内障的人类晶状体发生了什么，这将帮助我们找到治疗白内障的方法。关于白内障原因的一种理论是，某些因素，如阳光或缺乏保护性抗氧化剂维生素，可能会导致晶状体内的蛋白质聚集形成不透明的高分子质量“聚集体”。最近，人们发明了一种设备来确定分子相互作用，包括发生在晶状体核中的晶状体相互作用，称为动态光散射装置(DLS)。在白内障动物模型上使用新的DLS设备，我们发现了当白内障出现时蛋白质聚集的证据。初步研究表明，它在检测白内障发生的最早变化方面具有潜力，在理论上，抗白内障治疗在逆转、延迟或预防白内障方面是最有效的阶段。NASA使用较低能量的激光开发了该设备的一个新的微型版本，并在NEI提供了进一步的开发和临床测试。我们成功地将DLS装置安装在角膜镜上，角膜镜上有一个三维瞄准系统，以提高重复性。我们最近在正常人志愿者身上进行了一项初步研究(第一阶段)，以评估该仪器用于量化晶状体变化的有用性和重复性，并发现良好的重复性。我们还确定可以使用的最有用的参数是由粒度分布得出的平均粒度。我们现在进入这个项目的第二阶段，研究晶状体因年龄而发生的变化(与年龄有关的变化)，以及三种具有代表性的白内障类型(核性、皮质性和PSC)。这些数据将有助于描述人类晶状体中与正常衰老相关的分子变化以及与白内障形成相关的分子变化。有了这些信息，我们希望更好地了解白内障的潜在原因，并在未来开发延缓或预防白内障形成的药物。

Cataracts are the foremost cause of blindness in the world and currently can be treated only by surgical removal. Surgery, although easily available and safely performed in the U.S., is not easily available nor safely performed in many undeveloped regions in the world like Asia, Africa, the Middle East and South America. Hence we are studying ways to treat cataracts non-surgically, and a new device promises to help us find out what happens to the human lens that may cause cataracts, which will then help us find a cure for cataracts.One theory on the cause of cataracts is that some factors such as sunlight or lack of protective anti-oxidant vitamins may cause the proteins inside the lens to aggregate to form opaque high molecular weight "aggregates". Recently, a device has been created to determine molecular interactions, including lens crystalline interactions that occur in the nucleus of the lens, called Dynamic Light Scattering Device (DLS). Using the new DLS device on animal models of cataract, we have found evidence of this aggregation of proteins as a cataract appears.Preliminary studies have shown its potential in the detection of the earliest changes occurring in cataract, at the stage where anticataract treatment would theoretically be most effective in reversing, delaying or preventing cataracts. A new miniaturized version of this device has been developed by NASA using lower energy lasers and offered for further development and clinical testing at the NEI. We mounted the DLS device successfully on the Keratoscope, which had a 3-D aiming system to enhance repeatability. We recently conducted a pilot study on normal human volunteers (Phase 1) to evaluate the usefulness and reproducibility of this instrument for quantitating lens changes, and found good reproducibility. We also determined that the most useful parameter to use is mean particle size derived from particle size distribution. We now move into Phase 2 of this project to conduct a study on changes on the lens due to aging (age related changes), as well as on the three representative types of cataracts (nuclear, cortical and PSC). These data will help characterize molecular changes in the human lens associated with normal aging as well as those associated with cataract formation. With this information, we hope to better understand the underlying causes of cataracts and, in the future, develop medications to delay or prevent cataract formation.