ASPIRIN can help prevent people losing their eyesight as they get older, Oxfordshire scientists have discovered.

Dr Nageena Malik and her team at the Open University Research Centre, Boars Hill, made the find after linking worsening eye condition to sugar.

They noticed the build-up of glucose, caused by the ageing body becoming more intolerant to the natural sugar, attacked eye tissue. Results also showed the fruit sugar fructose - especially high in apple juice drink - could wreak even more damage.

"We demonstrated that central lens tissue is significantly altered by glucose and fructose," said Dr Malik.

This can lead to cataracts - clouding of the lens - or glaucoma which can cause to blindness due to increased pressure inside the eyeball.

Dr Malik, funded by BT and charity Research Into Ageing, then explained: "Our project also allowed us to examine whether aspirin and other naturally occurring compounds provide eye tissue with protection against sugar attack.

"The results reveal that they do, at least for a certain length of time, but much more work is required."

The eye's cornea is rich in collagen which helps protect the outer coating of the eye and maintain its transparency.

"What we have shown during our project is that collagen, a major structural protein, is susceptible to detrimental change from sugar attack," said Dr Malik.

The sugars also changed the structure of the eye which would also affect vision.

Dr Malik and colleague Dr Keith Meek used a special X-ray to examine eye tissue.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.