Lipid peroxidation and cataracts: N-acetylcarnosine as a therapeutic tool to manage age-related cataracts in human and in canine eyes.

Cataract formation represents a serious problem in the elderly, with approximately 25% of the population aged >65 years and about 50% aged >80 years experiencing a serious loss of vision as a result of this condition. Not only do cataracts diminish quality of life, they also impose a severe strain on global healthcare budgets. In the US, 43% of all visits to ophthalmologists by Medicare patients are associated with cataract.

Image analysis and glare sensitivity in human age-related cataracts.

Background: A new glare disability test and a diagnostic instrument, the Halometer, were proposed for measuring intraocular light scattering in the presence of human cataracts. The objectives of this work were to introduce new methods of computer-generated analysis of lens images and a glare disability test to validate the use of two new tests to measure the severity of cataract and to document and quantify changes in lens clarity at diagnosis in a group of patients with age-related cataract with minimal to advanced opacities.

Methods: The authors followed 28 patients (46 eyes) with an average age of 66.

Efficacy of N-acetylcarnosine in the treatment of cataracts.

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of 1% N-acetylcarnosine (NAC) solution on lens clarity over 6 and 24 months in patients with cataracts.

Trial Design: Randomised, placebo-controlled study.

Participants: 49 subjects (76 affected eyes) with an average age of 65.

N-Acetylcarnosine, a natural histidine-containing dipeptide, as a potent ophthalmic drug in treatment of human cataracts.

A study was designed to document and quantify the changes in lens clarity over 6 and 24 months in 2 groups of 49 volunteers (76 eyes) with an average age of 65.3 +/- 7.0 enrolled at the time of diagnosis of senile cataracts of minimal to advanced opacification.

The natural histidine-containing dipeptide Nalpha-acetylcarnosine as an antioxidant for ophthalmic use.

The naturally occurring compound Nalpha-acetylcarnosine is proposed as a prodrug of L-carnosine that is resistant to enzymatic hydrolysis by carnosinase. Eyes of rabbits were treated with 1% Nalpha-acetylcarnosine, L-carnosine, or placebo and extracts of the aqueous humor from the anterior eye chamber were analyzed for imidazole content by reverse-phase analytical high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and thin-layer (TLC) and ion-exchange chromatographic techniques. Topical administration of pure L-carnosine to the rabbit eye did not lead to accumulation of this compound in the aqueous humor over 30 min in concentration exceeding that in the placebo-treated matched eye.