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A new
surgical technique may offer an alternative for treating glaucoma,
according to researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science
in Rehovot, Israel.
Open-angle
glaucoma occurs when fluid pressure builds up inside the eye
causing damage to the optic nerve, vision impairment and pain.
Traditional surgery uses incisions to allow the extra fluid
to escape to another area of the eye where it can be reabsorbed
into the bloodstream.
The new,
less invasive technique, called enzymatic sclerostomy, uses
an enzyme that can be selectively activated on the eye to
increase the release of fluid from within the eye, lowering
the pressure of the eye in patients with open angle glaucoma,
according to the study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology.
The procedure,
when tested on 15 patients blinded by open-angle glaucoma,
showed immediate and sustained reduction of eye pressure.
However, the procedure needs further technical refinement,
according to the researchers.
Source:
Medical Week staff,
week of June 2, 2002
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