London, July 16 - Evidence from tissue culture experiments show that popular dietary supplement carnosine may help prevent and treat cataracts, which is a leading cause of vision loss worldwide.

Enrico Rizzarelli from the University of Catania (Italy) who led the study and colleagues note that the only effective treatment for cataracts is surgical replacement of the lens, the clear disc-like structure inside the eye that focuses light on the nerve tissue of the eye.

Cataracts develop when the main structural protein in the lens, alpha-crystallin, forms abnormal clumps. The clumps make the lens cloudy and impair vision. Previous studies hinted that carnosine may help block the formation of these clumps.