Birth Control Drug May Slow Vision Cell Death due to Retinitis Pigmentosa
Sept 29, 2011 - Careful study of the underlying causes of retinitis pigmentosa and other retinal eye diseases is beginning to produce new treatments, but some scientists are taking another approach. Irish professor, Tom Cotter, has screening 100s of drugs that have already been approved to see if any of them have an effect on retinal eye disease.
In September, Dr. Cotter and his team published a paper about the effects of Norgestrel, a synthetic progesterone found in some forms of birth control. The research team showed that treating mice that had a form of retinitis pigmentosa could slow the death of light-sensing cells (photoreceptors) and allow the mice to retain more vision then their untreated counterparts. The paper was published in the Journal of Neurochemistry.
"The drug seems to work by stimulating the production of a protein survival factor called FGF from neighbouring cells in the eye and this helps the light detecting cells to survive and the animals to see," says Professor Cotter. "FGF binds to the surface of the light detecting cells and sends a signal to their DNA to up-regulate strong cells survival pathways. In other words, it 'beefs up' the cells, makes them stronger and better able to resist the destructive effects of the damaged gene that causes the disease.
Dr. Cotter stress that “at the moment, we still don't know if the drug will also work in humans." However, he and his team hope to begin a study next year to see if the protective effects of the contraceptive will also benefit humans with retinitis pigmentosa.
Reviewed by Dr. Patrick Yang, Ophthalmology Resident, University of Toronto.