■ UK-based Fight for Sight is funding researchers at Cardiff University to examine the extent to which dietary supplementation of nicotinamide, a form of vitamin B3, can be used to reduce and even prevent retinal damage caused by glaucoma. This research could help pave the way for new types of treatment for glaucoma, which are currently focused only on reducing eye pressure.

Because increased eye pressure is a main driver in glaucoma damage, this research will also test how effective nicotinamide is in treating a wide range of eye pressure profiles, which will help determine what the optimal dosage should be for glaucoma patients. This research is likely to add to the growing body of evidence highlighting nicotinamide’s protective role in preventing damage to retinal ganglion cells, the neurons located near the inner surface of the retina that transmit visual information from photoreceptors to the brain.