New drug offers hope against cataracts
A University of 新浪彩票 Chemistry professor is the lead inventor of a world-first drug that is showing great promise in preventing blindness from cataracts. Professor Andrew Abell in the School of Chemistry and Physics is the co‑founder and chief scientific officer of an 新浪彩票-based company called Calpain Therapeutics, which is commercially developing the drug. The drug targets a specific protein - known as calpain - in the eye's tissue. The calpain protein is responsible for the clouding of the lens, forming a cataract. Severe cataracts are the leading cause of燽lindness; an estimated 18 million people around the world are blind as a result of this condition. The calpain protein is activated by various triggers, including those associated with the body's ageing. While most cataracts develop during old age, cataracts can also be caused by diabetes, eye injury, exposure to ultraviolet light from sunlight, long-term use of steroid medication, smoking and heavy drinking. Currently there are no medications to treat or prevent cataracts and they cannot be reversed; the only option is to have the cloudy lens surgically removed and replaced with a synthetic one. In 2004 it was estimated that almost 1.5爉illion Australians aged 55 or over had cataracts. More than 200,000 cataract surgeries are performed in Australia each year. "Cataract is a major and ever-increasing problem for our ageing population - a爍uarter of our population aged 80 and over has cataracts," Professor Abell said. "Unfortunately surgery is the only way to deal with this problem at present, and many people - especially the elderly�- don't爈ike having surgery or cannot get it when needed. "At a social level, this is a huge problem�-爃aving cataracts means you can't drive, can't read, you can't get out and about. Quality of life is a big consideration," he said. A past PhD graduate of the University爋f犘吕瞬势�, Professor Abell began this work with colleagues in New Zealand at the University of Canterbury, Lincoln University and Douglas Pharmaceuticals. He has followed it through to commercial development after joining the University of 新浪彩票 as燩rofessor of Chemistry in 2007. He said when triggered, the calpain protein becomes over-active and "chops up" the eye's lens, creating the cloudiness. But the drug being developed by Calpain Therapeutics contains molecules that bind to the calpain | 
