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The effectiveness of therapeutic agents in the treatment of age-related cataract: A systematic review


Obialo Iwunze Osigwe

Abstract

Context: The effectiveness of therapeutic agents in the treatment of age-related cataract has been studied by many authorities and  nothing concrete has been documented to encourage further discourse on followups and pharmaceutical trials.


Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of therapeutic agents in the treatment of age-related cataract.


Data Sources: The search engines employed include PUBMED and EBSCO research Databases (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, E-journals and Open Dissertations).


Study Selection: The key words used were “age-related cataract”, “drug treatment”, “cataract” and “pharmacotherapy”. There was no  language restriction. Studies were random controlled trials and quasi experiments that reported relative risks, odds ratios or hazard  ratios with 95%CI for their reported results.


Data Extraction: Independent mining of articles by one author applying already defined data fields, including study value pointers.


Data Synthesis: Data was put on a spread sheet and analyzed according to the study parameters of interest.


Results: 90 percent of the studies reported a measure of effects on age-related cataracts in humans and enucleated cataractous human  lens nuclei, horses, dogs, and goats, and induced cataracts in rats and rabbits.


Conclusions: Many substances have been researched and  shown to inhibit development and progression of age-related cataract in human eyes and in selenite and diabetic cataracts in animal  models. It is possible to ameliorate cataract with pharmacotherapy once the right combination of agents is discovered. 


Journal Identifiers


eISSN: 0795-0039
print ISSN: 0795-0039