Newly identified chemical can be used in eye drops to clear up cataracts.

A chemical has been identified by a group of scientists which can potentially be used for clearing up cataract, The chemical if added to certain eye drops, will be beneficial for eye diseases. Cataract is an eye disorder which cause blindness in eye.

The identified chemical is a compound which has property of solubility, so it can form the basis of a practical eye-drop and can be used as a potential medicine to cure cataracts. This is the result of amazing study by the team of scientists from UC San Francisco (UCSF), the University of Michigan (U-M), and Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL).

Cataract is the priority eye disease which is caused when the eye lenses lose the property of transparency. A wide range of people get affected from this disease worldwide. The most preferred way to remove cataract is through surgery. But this is quite expensive, so most of the people can’t afford it and they eventually go untreated. It’s basically a disease of aging. It’s due to the misfolding and fusing together of essential proteins.

Here the affected proteina are known as crystallins. These crystallin are responsible for the formation of lens of eye. “Shortly after you’re born, all the fiber cells in the eye lose the ability to make new proteins, or to discard old proteins, So the crystallines you have in your eye as an adult are the same as those you’re born with.” said Gestwicki, the lead author of the study. The crystallins function to maintain both the flexibility and transparency of the fiber cells of eye lens. This newly discovered chemical will be a boon for all those suffering from cataract.