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	Podcast:		UC Science Today
	Episode:		Treating cataracts in the future with eye drops?
	Category:		Science & Medicine
	Duration:		00:01:03
	Publish Date:		2016-02-21 00:00:00
	Description:		Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness for over half of the world’s population. And while it can be successfully reversed with surgery, what if this age-related eye disease could be treated simply using eye drops? A team of scientists led by the University of California, San Francisco’s Jason Gestwicki is working on just that. They’ve isolated a compound in a chemical class known as sterols that’s more soluble than previously-identified chemicals. So far, it’s reversed cataracts topically in a mouse model. "But we are currently trying to improve that formulation, use fewer drops that last longer periods of time and to really make sure this is an incredibly safe procedure. And only then will you be able to test the molecule in humans and pet animals to see if it can reverse cataract." Cataracts are a major source of blindness in developing countries because surgery is often not an option. "If we could come up with a non-surgical solution to this problem, maybe we’d have a better time accessing rural parts of the world."
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