Talks from experts: Prof. Saaeha Rauz (Eyes)
"In Search of Scar Prevention for Patients with Ocular Pemphigoid:
The MMP Oral Disulfiram Study"
A talk given over Zoom by Prof. Saaeha Rauz and her team on 23/1/25
Professor Saaeha Rauz and her team from the Academic Unit of Ophthalmology, at the Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre, University of Birmingham presented the long journey of The Pemphigoid Study Group in search of a better understanding of the biological process that cause scarring in ocular pemphigoid, and how these processes might be altered to change the course of the condition.
In a patient and public engagement evening held by PEM Friends with the University of Birmingham, we are now delighted to share a recording of part of the event held via zoom on 23rd January 2025.
Professor Rauz began by explaining that she was describing snippets of decades of work carried out with collaborating partners at NIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, that ultimately led to the Medical Research Council Experimental Medicine Grant (Reference MRX0191951) and the first interventional clinical study to examine possible treatments for conjunctival scarring. The evening was broken up into sections:
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Professor Saaeha Rauz
a. Clinical background
b. Laboratory research
c. Why disulfiram
d. Designing a human study
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Dr Graham Wallace
a. Laboratory outcomes
b. Redefining mechanisms
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Dr Gibran Butt
a.The patient journey -
Mr Mark Noble
a. What happened to me -
General Discussion with Questions and Answers
This pioneering work started in the UK following the discovery that the enzyme, aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), played a key role in the conjunctival scarring process. This represented a potential major breakthrough as it identified a novel way to treat the disease.
Subsequently they identified that a licensed medication, disulfiram, is effective at blocking ALDH. Disulfiram is currently used to treat alcohol dependency and can have unpleasant side effects when taken at the same time as alcohol.
At the gathering, a number of PEM Friends members were able to meet the research team from Birmingham and London, who have commenced a clinical trial of a novel candidate. They were given the opportunity to discuss what this early stage of clinical research involved and how they may take part.
This initial trial is investigating the molecular changes in the body due to oral disulfiram and will be followed by the development of disulfiram eye drops that could reduce side effects of the drug.
You can hear about this trial and the questions raised by potential participants in the recording.
If you are interested in being part of the trial, you can contact the research team at swbh.eye-research@nhs.net or 07855514811.