This technology provides pharmaceutical, ophthalmic, and food compositions for preventing diabetic cataracts, containing midodrine—an alpha-1 adrenergic receptor agonist—or its pharmaceutically acceptable salts as an active ingredient. Midodrine is a prodrug that is converted in the body into its active metabolite, desglymidodrine.
Diabetic patients are 3 to 5 times more likely to develop cataracts than the general population. Excess glucose is converted into sorbitol by aldose reductase, which accumulates in the lens, causing osmotic and oxidative stress that damages lens fibers. When cataracts cloud the lens, fundus examinations required for diagnosing diabetic retinopathy become difficult, and the risk of complications such as macular edema after surgery increases.
This technology maintains lens transparency by using midodrine to reduce the expression of aldose reductase and TNFα while increasing hexokinase expression and intracellular ATP synthesis. In ophthalmic formulations, it is administered with carriers suitable for the eye, such as buffered saline, liposomes, or biodegradable synthetic polymers. It can be applied to eye drops for diabetic patients, intraocular sustained-release drug delivery systems, and eye health supplements, helping to delay cataract surgery and maintain a clear view of the fundus to ensure timely diagnosis and treatment of diabetic retinopathy.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning for the development of new therapeutic agents based on systems medicine.
CN113271934B, EP3909573B1, US12458610B2, WO2020-145728A1
