Drug-Free, Nonsurgical Reduction of Intraocular Pressure for Four Months after Suprachoroidal Injection of Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogel.

ABSTRACT: Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness. Current treatments use drugs or surgery to reduce intraocular pressure (IOP). In this study, a drug-free, nonsurgical method is developed that lowers IOP for 4 months without requiring daily patient adherence. The approach involves expanding the suprachoroidal space (SCS) of the eye with an in situ-forming hydrogel injected using a microneedle. This study tests the hypothesis that SCS expansion increases the drainage of aqueous humor from the eye via the unconventional pathway, which thereby lowers IOP. SCS injection of a commercial hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel reduces the IOP of normotensive rabbits for more than 1 month and an optimized HA hydrogel formulation enables IOP reduction for 4 months. Safety assessment by clinical ophth

SUBMITTER: Chae JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7816721 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature