Abstract

Millions of people suffer from a wide variety of ocular diseases, many of which lead to irreversible blindness. The leading causes of irreversible blindness in the elderly — age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma — will continue to effect more individuals as the worldwide population continues to age. Although there are therapies for treating glaucoma, as well as ongoing clinical trials of treatments for age-related macular degeneration, there still is a great need for more efficacious treatments that halt or even reverse ocular diseases. The eye has special attributes that allow local drug delivery and non-invasive clinical assessment of disease, but it is also a highly complex and unique organ, which makes understanding disease pathogenesis and ocular drug discovery challenging. As we learn more about the cellular mechanisms involved in age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma, potentially, new drug targets will emerge. This review provides insight into some of the new approaches to therapy.

Author affiliations

1. Alcon Research, Ltd, Fort Worth, Texas 76134, USA.
2. Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Graduate School of Biomedical Science, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, Texas 76107-2699, USA.

Correspondence to: Abbot F. Clark^1,2 Email: abe.clark@alconlabs.com