ROCK the cornea

The cornea, which is the very front surface of the eye, can develop swelling. Many times this swelling has to do with a problem with the inside most part, which is responsible for pumping water out of the cornea. If that pump malfunctions, water builds up in the cornea, swelling it. Over the last couple of decades, the primary way to fix this has become replacing the inside part of the cornea, basically a partial corneal transplant. One other approach that is gaining traction is the use of rho kinase inhibitor eyedrops (sometimes called “ROCK inhibitors”). If the treatment with eyedrops develops in future to be as good as the corneal transplant, that could be a game changer!