A Lottery Health Research Postdoctoral Fellowship has been awarded to investigate changes in the structures of the eye and its oxygen levels post ocular surgery.
Dr Renita Martis from the Molecular Vision Laboratory in the Department of Physiology has been awarded the Lottery Hearth Research Postdoctoral Fellowship for the project titled ‘MRI as a non-invasive tool to detect changes in the lens and vitreous humour to delay the onset of secondary eye disease’. With an ageing population, age-related eye diseases are increasingly common, resulting in the need for surgery to restore vision. Cataract surgery (removal of the cataractous lens) and vitrectomy (removal of the vitreous humour) are common eye surgeries performed in New Zealand.
However, there is evidence that these surgeries increase the risk of secondary eye diseases, resulting in the need for further surgery within two years. It is proposed that the lens and vitreous humour work together to maintain high concentrations of antioxidants to ensure low levels of oxygen required to prevent the lens from developing cataract and the vitreous humour from degenerating.
To test this, Dr Martis will use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to monitor over time in vivo changes in oxygen levels in the vitreous humour and optical properties of the lens in individuals who have had cataract surgery or vitrectomy. This will provide important information that will help lead to the development of post-cataract or post-vitrectomy treatments to minimise oxygen levels and enhance antioxidant levels in the eye and improve vision outcomes for our ageing population.