SEEING CLEARLY
How beans can improve the lives of cataract patients

When peering through a foggy window, the images we see can appear indistinguishable and blurry. For a clearer view, we easily wipe the window clean. But, what if we couldn’t wipe the window clean? What if the blurry view was permanent and became more blurry as time passed? Blurred vision is a condition cataract patients face on a daily basis.

According to the National Eye Institute, more than half of all Americans either have a cataract or have had cataract surgery by age 80. A cataract is a clouding of the lens in the eye that affects vision. It can be caused by a protein build-up, a gradual discoloring of the lens over time or the accumulation of old cells behind the lens of the eye, which causes cloudy or blurred vision. Though they can occur due to trauma, cataracts are more typically a common occurrence as people age.

To correct the symptoms caused by cataracts, doctors surgically remove the old lens and insert a new intraocular lens. Like any surgery, lens replacement carries risk and precise placement of the lens is essential for success. Increasing lens success and effectiveness is what drives the research of LSU polymer chemist Bill Daly.

“About seven to eight million lenses are inserted into patients’ eyes every year,” says Daly, a professor in LSU’s Department of Chemistry. “What we are trying to do is decrease the likelihood of the body rejecting the new lens. By altering the lens shape and performing drug therapy with a naturally-derived substance, we are able to do just that.”

For success, Daly and his team are turning to an unlikely source of help: beans. More specifically, they are using a legume, a member of the bean family, called guar. Guar is native to India, but grown in Texas. By treating guar with chemicals and eventually grinding up what remains, Daly can fashion a powder from the bean. Being a soluble substance, polymers are grafted to the guar powder. The end product is a gel that can suspend materials such as drugs.

The gel could be inserted into the eye to deliver healing or sterilizing drugs, which would help in patient recovery. In addition, the gel could be used to modify the shape of the new lens for a more perfect, customized fit for each individual cataract patient.

Daly’s project is being funded by Bausch & Lomb, Inc., an eye health company specializing in lens, surgical, and pharmaceutical products. Once his project is complete, Daly’s hope is to move the new techniques they develop to market—making them available for the benefit of cataract patients around the world allowing their windows to remain crystal clear.

ON THE WEB:
LSU Department of Chemistry
National Eye Institute

from Summer/Fall 2005