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New Biodegradable Contact Lenses Treat Disease

Scientists at UNAM have developed a contact lens that gradually dissolves, releasing medicine to treat ocular inflammatory diseases.

Biodegradable Lens / Image: Navva
Biodegradable Lens / Image: Navva

We recently covered an eye patch lined with dissolvable needles that treat eye disease. In that same vein, scientists have created dissolvable contact lenses that serve the same purpose. An article from telasurHD discussed the new lens, developed by experts at Mexico’s UNAM, that is designed to treat ocular inflammatory diseases that could eventually lead to blindness.

The lens is the same size and dimensions of a standard contact lens, and dissolves with the eye’s own fluids and temperature. As it dissolves, the lens releases medicine to treat uveitis or inflammation of the uvea, which is the vascular layer of the eye. Uveitis causes red eyes and burning, itching, tearing, and decreased visual acuity. The dissolving lenses are apparently more effective than prescription eye drops since they release the medicine over a longer period of time.

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