N-Acetylcarnosine, a natural histidine-containing dipeptide, as a potent ophthalmic drug in treatment of human cataracts
Controlled trialHumansTopicalWith N-acetylcarnosine (carnosine prodrug)
This study tested carnosine together with N-acetylcarnosine (carnosine prodrug). Its results cannot be assigned to carnosine alone. More combination studies.
- Design
- Controlled trial
- Subjects
- 49 volunteers, 76 eyes (26 patients/41 eyes treated; 13 patients/21 eyes placebo; 10 patients/14 eyes untreated), mean age 65.3
- Dose used in the study
- 1 percent N-acetylcarnosine eye drops, two drops twice daily
- Duration
- 6 months, with follow-up to 24 months
- What was measured
- Best corrected visual acuity, glare sensitivity and computerised image analysis of lens transmissivity from slit-image and retro-illumination photography at baseline, 2 and 6 months and over 24 months.
What the authors reported
Over 6 months, 41.5 percent of treated eyes showed significant improvement in lens transmissivity, 90 percent improved in best corrected visual acuity by 7 to 100 percent and 88.9 percent improved 27 to 100 percent in glare sensitivity; no treated eye worsened and the benefit was sustained at 24 months. The combined placebo and untreated group showed variable densitometry, worse glare sensitivity at 6 months and gradual deterioration of acuity and transmissivity over 24 months. Differences between groups were statistically significant at 6 and 24 months.
Limits of this study
Placebo and untreated eyes were pooled as the control group; blinding and randomisation are not described in the abstract; the lead author is affiliated with the company developing the product. Abstract only.
Source
PubMed 11390029 · doi:10.1016/s0196-9781(01)00407-7
Entry checked against PubMed abstract (E-utilities) on 2026-10-19. The dose shown is the dose the researchers used. It is not a recommendation. How to read this page.