A new study has found therapeutic potential in synthetic collagen mimetic peptides (CMPs) in treating ophthalmic disease, including myopia.

Published in Pharmaceuticals, the study results indicate that topical application of CMPs designed to bind to and repair disease- and trauma-damaged collagen could have a therapeutic effect on ocular diseases in which reduced tissue stiffness and integrity caused by ocular stress is a factor.

In the animal model study, researchers first measured how stress caused by elevated intraocular pressure affects stiffness in the posterior segment, specifically the collagen-rich peripapillary sclera, which is impacted by ocular stress and is integral to the eye’s response to it, they said. Over a four-week period, the researchers observed a decrease in scleral stiffness that corresponded with an increase in fragmented or damaged collagen. During the same period, the application of CMPs to the ocular surface had a concurrently restorative effect on both scleral stiffness and collagen structure.

“Stress-induced reduction in tissue stiffness and collagen damage occur and facilitate disease progression in many conditions that involve the peripapillary sclera, including myopia,” said lead investigator Dr David Calkins, vice president for research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “While more research is needed, our results suggest that CMPs, when applied to the ocular surface, could promote the restoration of tissue stiffness and integrity challenged by degraded or remodelled collagen, thus helping the eye maintain its ability to respond to disease-related ocular stress.”