Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Receptor Agonists – Potential Game Changers in the Treatment of Glaucoma?

Zaynab Ahmad Mouhammad, Rupali Vohra, Anna Horwitz, Anna Sophie Thein, Jens Rovelt, Barbara Cvenkel, Pete A. Williams, Augusto Azuara-Blanco, Miriam Kolko*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReviewResearchpeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

Glaucoma is a common ocular neurodegenerative disease characterized by the progressive loss of retinal ganglion cells and their axons. It is the most common cause of irreversible blindness. With an increasing number of glaucoma patients and disease progression despite treatment, it is paramount to develop new and effective therapeutics. Emerging new candidates are the receptor agonists of the incretin hormone glucagon-like-peptide-1 (GLP-1), originally used for the treatment of diabetes. GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists have shown neuroprotective effects in preclinical and clinical studies on neurodegenerative diseases in both the brain (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, stroke and diabetic neuropathy) and the eye (e.g., diabetic retinopathy and AMD). However, there are currently very few studies investigating the protective effects of GLP-1R agonists in the treatment of specifically glaucoma. Based on a literature search on PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov, this review aims to summarize current clinical literature on GLP-1 receptor agonists in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases to elucidate their potential in future anti-glaucomatous treatment strategies.

Original languageEnglish
Article number824054
JournalFrontiers in Neuroscience
Volume16
ISSN1662-4548
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by Mauritzen La Fontaine Familiefond, the BRIDGE ? Translational Excellence Programme funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation (Grant agreement no. NNF18SA0034956). PW was supported by Karolinska Institutet in the form of a Board of Research Faculty Funded Career Position and by St. Erik Eye Hospital philanthropic donations, Vetenskapsr?det 2018-02124.

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2022 Mouhammad, Vohra, Horwitz, Thein, Rovelt, Cvenkel, Williams, Azuara-Blanco and Kolko.

Keywords

  • antidiabtics
  • glaucoma
  • GLP-1 receptor agonists
  • neurodegenerative diseases
  • neuroprotection
  • ophthalmology

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