MEDIA CONTACT: Andrew LaPlant
561-297-3022, alaplant@fau.edu

FAU Professor Focuses Research on Cataract Prevention

BOCA RATON, FL (August 20, 2004) - Florida Atlantic University Professor Marc Kantorow's research is making progress on the subject of age-related cataracts, the leading cause of blindness in Americans.

As the United States recognizes the month of August as Cataract Awareness Month, it is important to note that nearly half of Americans 65 or older develop cataracts. It is the leading cause of visual loss among those 65 and older. Cataracts are an irreversible clouding of the eye lens that blocks vision and ultimately results in blindness. Some of the symptoms include blurred vision and sensitivity to light and glare. Kantorow's research centers on understanding cataracts with the goal of developing therapies to prevent or delay the disease.

With Kantorow's research, the knowledge on how a cataract forms has been greatly broadened. He has identified numerous genes whose lens functions provide insight into developing therapies to prevent or delay cataract. It has been estimated that by delaying the onset of cataracts by just ten years, we could cut in half the levels of blindness around the world. Kantorow's research is the result of a five-year grant from the National Institute of Health.

"The new Charles E. Schmidt Biomedical Science building and the ability to collaborate with Dr. Herbert Weissbach (distinguished professor at FAU) were the main reasons I came to FAU," says Kantorow. "At FAU, we are trying developing new technologies that reveal differences in the levels of specific genes between eye lenses isolated from cataracts and normal human lenses. These genes point to eventual therapies for delaying or preventing cataracts that should also prove useful in the treatment of other degenerative diseases."

For more information on cataracts and Cataract Awareness Month, please visit the American Academy of Ophthamology website at http://www.aao.org/aao/patients/eyemd/cataract.cfm. For more information on Kantorow's research, call 561-297-2219 or email mkantoro@fau.edu.

-FAU-