Hyderabad part of international study on protecting eyes

HYDERABAD: The city has now joined an international research race to develop and evolve methods that would help in protection of eyes and eyesight.
LV Prasad Eye Institute in collaboration with Queen's University of Belfast, UK, along with nearly 30 other partners from the US, the UK, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and India, is working on a suite of studies to explore the impact of vision care on the global level to achieve sustainable development goals in low and middle-income countries.

The research study has received funding support of 3.5 million Pounds from the Wellcome Trust and Chen Yet-Sen Family Foundation. Apart from focussing on eyesight, the research would also involve methods to reduce road traffic injuries, the world’s leading cause of death in children and young people. Researchers would also find out methods to slowdown the onset of cognitive decline and dementia among elderly persons struggling with poor sight.
The study would also evolve proven preventive strategies for cognitive decline and dementia that could reduce the incidence by an estimated 41%. There would be focus on improving economic independence by helping older people use online banking on smartphones.
LVPEI senior public health specialists Dr Srinivas Marmamula and Asha Latha Metla and senior retina consultant Dr Raja Narayanan are part of the study. According to them, poor vision was the world’s largest unmet disability affecting 2.2 billion people. About 8.8 million people in India are blind, and another 47 million people are visually impaired. About 70% of the blindness the world over is preventable.
The research is led by Prof Nathan Congdon of Queen’s University and Dr Rohit Khanna of LV Prasad Eye Institute. Sashidhar Komaravolu from the Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India, Hyderabad, is also part of the research team from the city.
“It is a five-year project designed to leverage high-quality research results to drive lasting policy change and achieve an improved quality of life for people in low and middle-income countries. It comprises four research trials to examine the impact of glasses on promoting better living, from childhood to old age, and the impact on multiple sustainable development goals,” Dr Rohit Khanna said.