4 minute read
Crandall Center Initiatives
Glaucoma Therapeutics
In 1982, surgeons were using newly developed intraocular lenses (IOLs) for cataract surgery, but outcomes were unacceptably poor, and the National Institutes of Health had declined to fund IOL research. To help industry and patients, Randall J Olson, MD, Moran CEO and Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Utah, established the Intermountain Ocular Research Center.
Conducting independent research on lens design, materials, and complications, the center improved the quality and design of IOLs, developed surgical techniques now used by most cataract surgeons, and spurred the withdrawal of poorly designed IOLs from the marketplace. Nick Mamalis, MD, and Liliana Werner, MD, PhD, lead the center today.
Dr. Ike Ahmed will develop a similar research clearinghouse for glaucoma, assisting companies as they work to develop better biocompatible devices that improve fluid drainage and lower pressure.
—Dr. Ike Ahmed
Translational Research
Like Dr. Ahmed, Dr. Randall J Olson is a visionary who has championed innovation and shaped the field of modern ophthalmology. He, too, has a track record of success.
In 2009, Dr. Olson set his sights on curing a leading cause of blindness: age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Dr. Olson recruited Gregory S. Hageman, PhD, to Utah to investigate the genetics of AMD. Dr. Hageman brought with him the world’s largest collection of donor eye tissue dedicated to research. More than 10,000 eyes are now genotyped and accompanied by medical records. Dr. Hageman has used this unique resource to develop a gene therapy that is approved for clinical trials.
Now, Dr. Olson is committed to doing what he has done for cataracts and AMD for glaucoma. He has asked Dr. Hageman to explore the core genetics of the disease. Already, Dr. Hageman is including glaucoma patients in his AMD study, comparing glaucoma-diseased eyes to healthy ones. He plans to work with Dr. Ahmed to target genetic risk factors for glaucoma that will lead to a gene therapy.
—Randall J Olson, MD
Neuroprotection-Based Therapies
Glaucoma is not a well-understood disease, and it has been more than a decade since any new drugs have hit the market.
Why and how elevated eye pressure kills cells that send visual signals to the brain eluded researchers until the Moran Eye Center’s David Krizaj, PhD, made a gamechanging discovery. He identified the mechanism by which elevated pressure damages the eye and developed a new drug that reduces pressure and also protects cells from dying. Dr. Krizaj is working with a venture capital company to test and commercialize the therapy, a one-two punch that stands to be the Crandall Center’s first blockbuster medication.
The Crandall Center provides a framework for researchers to share disease models and test new ways to treat glaucoma. Dr. Krizaj’s work mirrors Dr. Ahmed’s surgical approach to lowering pressure, and they are working together to find new ways to protect the optic nerve. Future collaborations include exploring optic nerve regeneration by studying a ground squirrel whose retina regenerates after hibernation.
— Dr. Ike Ahmed
In the back of the eye, the optic nerve (shown in purple) sends information from the retina to the brain to create sight.
Global Care
As the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, glaucoma is an international tragedy.
Timely diagnosis and therapy are key to preserving vision, independence, and quality of life. The Moran Eye Center’s Global Outreach Division is training health care workers around the world to conduct screenings that detect glaucoma earlier. The program is the largest of its kind at any U.S. academic institution and works with an extensive network of global partners to reduce the burden of blindness worldwide.
Research shows that African, Hispanic, and certain Asian populations have a greater risk of developing glaucoma. The Crandall Center is committed to the fact that everyone, everywhere, deserves quality eye care and seeks to develop and manufacture affordable surgical devices for use in low-resource countries. Doing so requires finding new, inexpensive biocompatible materials and determining where surgeons should place them in the eye for maximal effect.
The Crandall Center will research better ways forward, create new products, conduct testing, and make treatment available in low-resource communities needing cost-effective care.
