New Presbyopia and Glaucoma Treatment in Clinical Trials

Nicholas Caro, M.D., president of Clear Sight, Inc. in Chicago is beginning full-scale clinical trails on the Caro clips, a minimally invasive technique to treat presbyopia and a certain type of glaucoma.
Dr. Caro, who is also medical director of the St. George Corrective Vision Center, holds several U.S. and foreign patents on his clips.

During the short procedure, four small clips are placed on the outer part of the eye. In correcting presbyopia, the clips enable the eye to focus on near objects again. In the case of glaucoma, the clips allow for natural stabilization of eye pressure.

Presbyopia is an eye condition that occurs as a part of normal aging and is treated with reading glasses. The process occurs gradually over a number of years. Symptoms are usually noticeable between the ages of 40 and 45. Presbyopia is a refractive error, meaning the shape of the eye does not focus light correctly and results in a blurred image.

The clips are also used to treat glaucoma, a disease that gradually causes blindness without symptoms, pain, or warning. It is typically characterized by high pressure within the eye, although it can occur in some cases with normal or low pressure in the eye. Over two million people in the United States have glaucoma. About eighty thousand of these individuals are legally blind because of the disorder.

Glaucoma is a serious problem. It is the leading cause of preventable blindness in the United States. The condition is about three times as common among African Americans as among whites. The risk for glaucoma increases rapidly with age, but the condition can affect any age group, including newborn infants and fetuses.

“Physicians trained by Clear Sight will perform the outpatient procedure, which takes about 20-30 minutes per eye using topical and/or local anesthesia,” explains Dr. Caro. “The procedure does not affect the cornea because the surgery occurs in the sclera.”