Indian doctor finds first-of-its-kind breakthrough eye cure
Research conducted by a Bengaluru based ophthalmologist has found out that autophagy could be used in treating severe ophthalmological ailments like keratoconus, dry eyes and age-related degeneration.
Dr Rohit Shetty has devised a therapeutic method based on the cells’ defense mechanism to cure eye-related problems. The doctor’s work is based on the study by Yoshinori Ohsumi- the Japanese scientists who won last year’s Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine for using baker’s yeast to identify genes essential for autophagy.
“We have been working on questions and mysteries of what really causes a disease. However, most of us are busy treating the conditions rather than finding the reasons behind them, which would essentially help us treat that condition in a holistic way. Our approach was to find out the causes, study them and then create a novel medication that would cure the ailment at an early stage so that treatment is effective, safe, preventive and cheap,” said Dr Shetty.
It was his curiosity about autophagy which spurred the doctor’s research. “Although the concept has been used to treat cancer, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s abroad, its benefits weren’t being explored in ophthalmology. Now that it has been found, people should know that even Indians can contribute towards life-saving therapies,” he added.
His study indicates, for the first time the role autophagy plays in causing dry eyes- seen as a modern epidemic among young people, and also keratoconus.
“Once we figured the role of autophagy in these ailments, we wanted to work on altered autophagy (correction and restarting of the biological mechanism). We came to know of a new mechanism on how the disease can occur due to oxidative stress and how altered autophagy could prevent its revival. Based on this, we came up with India’s own therapeutic option to control dry eye and keratoconus,” said Dr Shetty.
As per the doctor, oxidative stress causes the autophagy to abate, which triggers ailments since dead cells keep accumulating instead of getting cleared by the living ones. The doctor says that yoga and meditation could play a pivotal role in initiating altered autophagy. Reducing oxidative stress, they would improve the survival of the cells,which in turn leads to better cleaning of dead cells. He said that fasting for a day every week would also help reboot the mechanism and cure an ailment.
Aims to prevent needless blindness
The doctor also said that the work is on to make use of the research to resolve retina-related issues. Another aim is to address the wide incidence of glaucoma by using the mechanism of autophagy.
A related article that appeared on The Times of India mentions the case of a 26 year old who suffered from severe pain in the eyes. The 26 year old, who worked for an animation company was diagnosed with keratoconus. Aside from affecting the quality of her life, the pain also prompted her to leave her job. The patient was then treated using the therapeutic tool based on the autophagy mechanism. She has been cured, and is now back at work.
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