Effects of a thiol antioxidant in various cataract models

Summary Cataracts are the most common cause of treatable blindness worldwide, and result from loss of transparency of the lens. It has been demonstrated that oxidative stress plays an important role in cataract etiopathogenesis. Oxidative damage reduces solubility of crystallins, the main structural proteins of the lens, resulting in opacification. Cells have evolved to combat this damage with antioxidant enzymes and low molecular weight antioxidants such as glutathione (GSH). Our primary objective was to evaluate a GSH prodrug for cataract treatment because current surgical options are neither economical nor safe. Recent literature indicates that thiol compounds like N‐acetylcysteine (NAC) may ameliorate the risk for cataracts. Our data indicates that the analog of NAC, N‐acetylcysteine amide (NACA), is more effective than NAC due to its higher bioavailability. Therefore, the present study was performed to determine whether NACA is also effective in sodium selenite and L‐buthionine‐(S,R)‐sulfoxamine (BSO)‐induced cataracts. In both models, NACA significantly decreased lens opacity and improved redox balance. The data suggest that NACA has the potential to significantly improve both patient health and the clinical treatment of cataracts.