Cataracts & Vision - Carnosine and N-Acetylcarnosine Eye Drops

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Further to Cataract - MSM eye drop solution

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/2003/09/03/cataract_msm_eye_drop_solution.\

htm

 

the following provides more information. Although it too discusses some

animal data

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/2005/11/17/beware_animal_drug_testing_ofte\

n_unsafe_for_humans.htm more importantly it also includes some

good human clinical data.

 

Early cataract is also am indication of calcium overload and sometimes IV

EDTA chelation can also reverse it.

 

I can't emphasis the importance of non processed and low carbohydrate diets

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/2003/11/21/dr_jan_kwasniewskis_diet_is_no

t_atkin_dietupdate.htm

 

for all health conditions...,

 

See also:

 

Avoiding Visual Degeneration

 

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/2003/09/28/avoiding_visual_degeneration.ht\

m

 

 

Aspartame and Vision Degradation

 

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/2004/03/16/aspartame_and_vision_degradatio\

n.htm

 

 

Chris Gupta

 

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Carnosine and N-Acetylcarnosine Eye Drops

http://www.vrp.com/art/1099.asp

 

http://www.vrp.com/art/1099.asp

 

original is here.

 

 

New Hope for Cataracts

Ward Dean, MD

 

Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness, accounting for about 42 percent

of all cases of blindness worldwide (affecting about 17 million people).

Twenty-eight thousand new cases are reported everyday. About 20 percent of all

people over 60 have at least the beginning of a cataract in one or both eyes,

and

that figure rises to 80 percent for people over 75.

 

The most common type of cataract ­ a nuclear cataract ­ is characterized by a

cloudy haze inside the lens (Fig. 1). This haze is the physical manifestation

of a random clumping together of the once beautifully ordered arrangement of

lens proteins called crystallins. As the cataract develops in size and

density, it reduces the amount of light that passes through the lens and

scatters the

light that does get through. Thus, instead of all the light rays being

focused precisely to a point on the retina, forming a sharp, clear image of what

we

are seeing, many of the rays are spread out across the retina, forming a fuzzy

image. Colors may be dulled or distorted, and there may be an annoying halo

of light around bright objects, causing a glare effect.

 

GRAPH HERE

 

Causes of Cataracts

Causes of cataracts include cumulative ultraviolet radiation damage from sun

exposure, heredity, poor nutrition, smoking, high blood pressure, kidney

disease, diabetes, and the long-term use of corticosteroids (the last two are

major

risk factors for cataracts). Oxidative free radicals produced by the

above-listed causes are thought to damage vital biomolecules, including lipids

and

proteins, resulting in the clumping together of these proteins. The antidote to

free radicals, of course, is antioxidants, such as glutathione, lipoic acid,

and vitamins C and E. Consequently, many scientists believe that abundant

consumption of antioxidants may delay the onset of cataracts.

 

Nutrients for Vision

Good nutrition is a key element of effective prevention for most age-related

diseases, and cataracts are no exception. A number of nutrients can benefit

our eyes, and may help prevent diseases such as cataracts, glaucoma, and macular

degeneration. These nutrients include the tripeptide glutathione (the most

abundant and important antioxidant in the human body, critical for protecting

the lens from free radical damage); vitamins A and C; vitamin E and some of the

B vitamins; various bioflavonoids (especially quercetin and hesperidin) and

carotenoids (especially lutein and zeaxanthin); the amino acids taurine,

N-acetylcysteine (a precursor of glutathione), and acetyl L-carnitine; the

hormone

melatonin; the alkaloid vinpocetine; the herbs bilberry, ginkgo, and garlic; the

minerals zinc and selenium; and, last but certainly not least, the saturated

fatty acid, lipoic acid (“the antioxidant’s antioxidantâ€), which plays a

central role in maintaining the body’s antioxidant network.[1]

 

Carnosine for Vision

Carnosine ­ a dipeptide consisting of two amino acids (alanine and histidine)

connected to each other by a chemical bond called the peptide bond ­ is one

of the most exciting anti-aging nutrients that has recently become widely

available.[2] Based on research performed mainly by Russian scientists, it is

believed that carnosine is effective both in preventing and treating

cataracts.[3-6]

 

The ability of carnosine to prevent and treat cataracts is believed to be due

to its antioxidant properties and its ability to inhibit a chemical process

called glycation. Glycation leads to deleterious substances called AGEs

(advanced glycation end products). AGEs are chemical complexes that result from

common but undesirable reactions between blood sugars, such as glucose, and

proteins in many parts of our bodies, including the lenses of our eyes. The

sugar-protein complexes become chemically cross-linked and degrade cellular

functions.

The aptly named AGEs are thought to be an important factor in the aging

process.

 

Carnosine-containing eye drops have demonstrated efficacy in treating a

variety of ophthalmic conditions, including corneal diseases, cataracts,

glaucoma,

and increased intraocular pressure. In 1997, clinical trials with

carnosine-containing eye drops were conducted on 109 ophthalmic patients. The

results

confirmed accelerated healing of corneal erosions, trophic keratitis,

post-herpetic epitheliopathy, primary and secondary corneal dystrophy, and

bullous

keratopathy.[7] Most striking, however, was the ability of carnosine to

eliminate

existing cataracts.[8]

 

Carnosine eye drops have been shown to delay vision senescence in humans,

being effective in 100 percent of cases of primary senile cataract and 80

percent

of cases of mature senile cataract. Scientists concluded that “carnosine

seems to delay the impairment of eyesight with aging, effectively preventing and

treating senile cataract and other age-related diseases.â€[9] Carnosine

actually

restores the proteins in the lens by removing cross-linked carbonyl groups,

and is thought to function as a “molecular water pump,†thereby also helping

to lower intraocular pressure.[10] In earlier experiments it was demonstrated

that applying carnosine to the conjunctiva (the membrane covering the eye)

caused a decrease in normal intra-ocular pressure and reduced

prostaglandin-induced ocular hypertension (related to glaucoma) in rabbits.[11]

 

Some scientists believe that carnosine is ineffective if it is metabolized

(broken down) by the enzyme, carnosinase. However, studies of corneal

transplants in rabbits that were treated with one of the metabolites of

carnosine,

histidine, indicates that the metabolite itself may be bioactive. Five percent

histidine ointment was applied twice daily to 6 transplants for two months. All

six transplants healed and were clear. On the other hand, transplants which were

treated with daily applications of one percent cortisone became opaque,

necrotic, and failed to heal. Likewise, transplantation failed completely in six

control eyes.[12] This indicates that histidine may be an active portion­if not

the active factor­of the carnosine molecule.

 

Cataract-Dissolving Analog: N-Acetylcarnosine (NAC)

N-acetylcarnosine (NAC), like its parent compound, carnosine, occurs

naturally throughout the human body. Both compounds are found primarily in the

heart

and skeletal muscles (the word carnosine is derived from the Latin word for

flesh) and in the brain. Carnosine was discovered in 1900 in Russia, and it is

in

Russia that most of the recent research on the N-acetylcarnosine derivative

has been carried out.[13-15] Research with N-acetylcarnosine, as with

carnosine, demonstrates that it is effective not only in preventing cataracts

but also

in treating them. NAC has been shown to improve vision by partially reversing

the development of the cataract, thus increasing the transmissivity of the

lens to light.

 

The structural difference between NAC and carnosine is that one hydrogen atom

in carnosine replaces an acetyl group (CH3CO-), and this substitution occurs

at a nitrogen atom. An important chemical difference between carnosine and

N-acetylcarnosine is that carnosine is relatively insoluble in lipids (fats and

fatty compounds), whereas N-acetylcarnosine is relatively soluble in lipids (as

well as in water).

 

This means that N-acetylcarnosine may pass through the lipid membranes of the

corneal and lens cells more easily than carnosine, and may thereby gain

access more readily to the cells’ interior, which is primarily aqueous. There,

the

N-acetylcarnosine is gradually broken down to carnosine (and, perhaps, to

histidine), which then exerts its beneficial effects.

 

N-Acetylcarnosine also Reduces Cataracts

In one study, Russian scientists conducted two randomized, double-blind,

placebo-controlled trials of 6-months and 24-months duration, with eye drops

consisting of a one percent aqueous solution of NAC administered as two drops

twice

daily.[16] They treated a total of 49 elderly patients (average age 65) with

cataracts ranging in severity from minimal to advanced (but not to the point

of requiring surgery); the total number of eyes affected was 76. Using a

variety of sophisticated optical techniques, they monitored the condition of the

cataracts, visual acuity, and glare sensitivity.

 

The eyes treated with NAC were substantially improved in 6 months: the

measured transmissivity of the lenses increased in 42 percent of the eyes, by

12-50

percent; in 90 percent of the eyes, visual acuity improved by 7-100 percent;

and in 89 percent of the eyes, glare sensitivity improved by 27-100 percent.

These improvements were sustained for the duration of the 24-month trial. In no

eyes was any worsening of the condition seen. By contrast, the condition of

the untreated eyes in the control group worsened. Visual acuity dropped in 89

percent of the controls by 17-80 percent after 24 months.

 

Another interesting study by the same team also evaluated patients between

the ages of 48 and 60, who had various degrees of eyesight impairment, but who

did not have the symptoms of cataract. After a course of treatment ranging from

2 to 6 months, the conclusion was that the eye drops alleviated eye-tiredness

and continued to improve eyesight (i.e. there was more clear vision). The

subjects reported that the treatment “brightened†and “relaxed†their

eyes.

This is an important indicator that the eye drops have a value both for

preventive purposes, as well as medical applications.

 

Conclusion

Carnosine and N-acetylcarnosine eye drops appear to be a safe, effective

means to prevent cataracts, and to possibly even treat cataracts that are

forming.

Although cataract surgery is safe and highly effective, the use of topical

carnosine or NAC eye drops may give many people another option.

 

References:

1. Block, W. N-Acetylcarnosine May Help with Cataracts. NAC eye drops show

benefits in both preventing and treating this age-related condition. LE

Magazine, Aug. 2003.

 

2. Bourassa, D., and Dean, W. M.D. Carnosine: A Remarkable Multipurpose

Anti-Aging Nutrient. Vitamin Research News, Vol. 14., Num. 11, Nov. 2000.

 

3. Babizhayev MA, Deyev A. Free radical oxidation of lipid and thiol groups

in genesis of cataract. Biophysics (biofizika), 1986, 31, 119-125, Pergamon

Journals Ltd.

 

4. Babizhayev MA, Deyev Al, Linberg LF. Lipid peroxidation as a possible

cause of cataract. Mech. Ageing Dev. 1988, 44, 69-89.

 

5. Babizhayev MA, Antioxidant activity of L-carnosine, a natural

histidine-containing di-peptide in crystalline lens. Biochem. Biophys. Acta.,

1989a, 1004,

363-371.

 

6. Babizhayev MA, Deyev A. Lens opacity induced by lipid peroxidation

products as a model of cataract associated with retinal disease. Biochim.

Biophys.

Acta., 1989b, 1004, 124-133.

 

7. Maichuk, IUF, Formaziuk, VE, Sergienko, VI. Development of carnosine

eyedrops and assessing their efficacy in corneal diseases. Vestn Oftalmol, 1997,

113(6): 27-31.

 

8. Yuneva, M.O., Bulygina, E.R., Gallant, S.C., et al. Effect of carnosine on

age-induced changes in senescence-accelerated mice. J Anti-Aging Medicine, 2:

1999, 337-342.

 

9. Wang AM, Ma C, Xie H, and Shen, F. Use of carnosine as a natural

anti-senescence drug for human beings. Biochemistry, 2000, 65(7), 869-871.

 

10. Baslow, MH. Function of the N-acetyl-L-histidine system in the vertebrate

eye. Evidence in support of a role as a molecular water pump. J Mol Neurosci,

1998, 10(3), 193-208.

 

11. Ermakova, V.N., Babizhaev, M.A., Bunin, A.Ya. Effect of L-carnosine on

intraocular pressure. Byull. Eksp. Biol. Med. 1988, 105(4), 451-453.

 

12. Borioni, D., and Scassellati-Sforzolini, G. The action of p-aminobenzoic

acid, histidine, and cortisone on the success of corneal transplants, Am J

Ophthalmol, 1953, 36: 575-576.

 

13. Babizhayev MA, Yermakova VN, Sakina NL, Evstigneeva RP, Rozhkova EA,

Zheltukhina GA. N-Acetylcarnosine is a prodrug of L-carnosine in ophthalmic

application as antioxidant. Clin. Chim. Acta., 1996, 254, 1-21.

 

14. Babizhayev MA, Yermakova VN, Deyev Al, Seguin M-C. Imidazole-containing

peptiomimetic NAC as a potent drug for the medicinal treatment of age-related

cataract in humans. J. Anti-Aging Medicine 2000a, 2, 43-62.

 

15. Babizhayev MA, Yermakova VN, Semiletov yu A, Deyev A. The natural

histidine-containing di-peptide N-acetylcarnosine as an antioxidant for

ophthalmic

use. Biochemistry (Moscow), 2000b, 65, 588-598.

 

16. Babizhayev MA, Deyev AI, Yermakova VN, Semiletov YA, Davydova NG,

Kurysheva NI, Zhokotskii AV, Goldman IM. N-Acetylcarnosine, a natural

histidine-containing dipeptide, as a potent ophthalmic drug in treatment of

human cataracts.

Peptides, 2001, 22: 979-94.

 

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