Researchers from University College London, Moorfields Eye Hospital and Duke University School of Medicine have found a drug used to treat alcohol abuse may help prevent scarring conjunctivitis.
According to a press release issued by Fight for Sight, the condition ocular mucous membrane pemphigoid is the most common immune mediated scarring conjunctival disease in the UK. For that reason, researchers focused on that condition for the study, which examined the treatment of mice with immune mediated conjunctivitis with daily eye drops containing the alcohol abuse drug disulfiram for seven days. Disulfiram reportedly works by blocking a family of enzymes known as ALDH (aldehyde dehydrogenases). Researchers had previously found that people with ocular mucous membrane pemphigoid had more active ALDH1 enzymes in their tissues and fibroblasts.
The researchers reportedly found eye surface inflammation was reduced and scarring prevented in the mouse model. Additionally, researchers found disulfiram significantly reduced the signs of scarring in vitro in human ocular pemphigoid fibroblasts.
The study was funded by Fight for Sight, UCL Business, and Moorfields Eye Charity, and results were recently published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Click here to read the full press release.