Cancer drug potential for eye diseases
Drugs used to treat leukaemia could offer a new target for treating the abnormal blood vessels which form in many blinding conditions, such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. These abnormal vessels can leak fluid, resulting in blindness.
Researchers from University College London (UCL) found that imatinib, a drug used to treat patients with leukaemia, inhibited angiogenesis – the growth of abnormal blood vessels. In cancer patients, the drug targets the molecule ABL1, inhibition of which helps to stop tumour cells from spreading in leukaemia.
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