coffee's caffeine effects on parkinson's disease

[deleted-339605]

Hello science experts,

My name is Hareshan Suntharalingam, and I want to do a science fair project on how the adenosine A2A receptors antagonists found in the caffeine from coffee can help treat parkinson's disease. I have already completed a lot of my
preliminary research. I am looking for ways to prove my theory without conducting any tests on humans.
I am currently in grade 9 so I want to come up with an experimental procedure quite simple. Can you suggest
a few ideas to prove this theory. I am looking forward to your response.
I would like to thank you for all your time and support!
I will be very greatly appreciate any source of information that would contribute to my science project.

Thanks
Hareshan

[deleted-291782]

Hi Hareshan,

This is a very interesting project indeed. If you don't mind me asking, but what kinds of data have you generated already for your hypothesis? This will give us an idea as to what some next steps might be for your project. Some of the last major experiments for many different projects within pharmacology will typically be in vivo studies with rats, mice, etc. If you are able to demonstrate your mechanism partially in vivo, it will provide a lot of credibility to your studies. Do you happen to have any connections where you may be able to do such studies? Note that this will have to be done at a university-level laboratory with specialized animal facilities.

If not, perhaps there are other in vitro experiments that we can help you to design. Let us know more about your project and we'll be happy to help. This definitely sounds like a cool project.

Best,
Pharma

[deleted-339605]

Hello,

Thanks a lot for your suggestions. I found out that parkinson's disease is caused by the degeneration of a part
of the brain known as the Basal Ganglia and also because of the loss of the production of the neurotransmitter
dopamine.
From researching I also realized that studies in animal models of Parkinson’s disease suggest that caffeine may protect dopaminergic neurons (neurons that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine) by acting as an adenosine A2A-receptor antagonist in the brain.
I had read through a lot of studies that have been conducted on humans. The studies suggest that caffeine is more effective in men and it prevents them from developing parkinson's disease more in comparison to women.
I am currently in grade 9 and my science fair is in the middle of April so I don't think that I will get access to a university laboratory to conduct the experiment and I don't think that I will have mice/rats in my school or get the permission in time to do so either.
Is it possible that you can suggest potential vitro experimental procedures to prove my theory. Can you also add some reliable online sources which have examples of vitro/vivo experiments similar to my study?
I need all the help that I can get as soon as possible!
However, I will still try to get hold of some university level laboratories and I will try talking to them about my project too.
I will greatly appreciate any source of assistance and support that you can offer!!!

From
Hareshan

[deleted-291782]

Hi Hareshan,

Thanks for getting back with the information. A good experiment to show this effect would actually be an in vivo study using models of Parkinson's disease. In such an experiment, a mouse (or other model organism) that has an inducible mutation in the A2A receptor could be used to show a delay in the onset of Parkinson's. I understand the dilemma that there isn't much time, and these are definitely complex experiments that can require many months to complete.

In vitro, you could show that caffeine acts as a receptor antagonist by analyzing the effects on the downstream signaling pathway in cultured neurons. Typically when we analyze different agents in the lab and their effects on certain signaling pathways, we will look at how the activation of downstream targets (such as kinases, etc.) are affected. You could perform a similar experiment; however, I feel that this would also best be done in a university-level laboratory that routinely works with these types of systems.

I did find a review article on PubMed:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4115368/

There are many links within here to different studies (scroll to the section specifically about Parkinson's; one of the free research articles linked is the Sonsalla et al paper). I would recommend either PubMed or Google Scholar to search for any studies that might interest you for this project.

It seems that you have done a good amount of research already for this project; however, I think that the experiments that need to be done will have to be using these cell systems (cultured neurons) or even animal models. Let us know what you think. If there is a way that you may be able to get access to facilities that could help you to do these experiments, then that would likely be the best way.

Hope this helped,
Pharma

[deleted-339605]

Hello,

First of all, I would like to thank you for suggesting potential ways to prove how caffeine found in coffee can be used to treat Parkinson's disease. This certainly sounds like an interesting yet simpler way to prove the positive effects of adenosine A2A receptors.

I had read the Pub Med article and it had talked about the DARPP-32 and ERK1/2 signaling pathway. I had difficulty
comprehending what it is and its actual use. Can you please help me understand what they are and how this forms an effective signalling pathway.

How do these signalling pathways exhibit the function of adenosine A2A receptors and represent the levodopa-induced motor fluctuations in the brain?

I am trying to get hold of a University of Toronto professor who specializes in neuroscience and neurodegenerative diseases so that hopefully I can conduct this experiment. Does this experiment require a lot of time and patience to observe how time can impact the results like in a vivo study or can it be completed in a short period of time?

Many more thanks again for being my mentor and assisting me throughout this project.

From
Hareshan

[deleted-291782]

Hi Hareshan,

You're very welcome, we are here to help with any questions you may have. In regards to the PubMed article, I took a look at the linked article that was discussing the DARPP-32 and ERK1/2 signaling pathways. It seems to me that the authors were trying to improve symptoms that occur from use of levodopa (L-DOPA) treatment. Their results seem to suggest that caffeine treatment increases the phosphorylation of DARPP-32, but it decreases the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 (when comparing L-DOPA+caffeine treated rats with L-DOPA-treated rats-both sets of rats being models of Parkinson's). The review article suggests that a decrease in ERK1/2 is beneficial in neuronal cells, but I do not know the functional significance of this.

In essence, a basic signaling pathway that we can construct is that the A2A receptor is linked to modulation of these downstream proteins. In other words, A2A receptor inhibition --> increase in DARPP-32 phosphorylation and a decrease in ERK1/2 phosphorylation (again, when comparing L-DOPA+caffeine to L-DOPA alone). While DARPP-32 seems to be a protein involved in regulating neurotransmitter levels, ERK1/2 is a potent cell-growth stimulating pathway. Linked below are the Wikipedia articles for each if you need more information:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PPP1R1B

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extracell ... ed_kinases

These signaling pathways are essentially modulating the adverse effects of L-DOPA treatment. By administering caffeine treatment, the authors are able to downregulate A2A receptor expression, resulting in the changes mentioned above in the signaling pathways. However, this is just one mechanistic study, and there are likely several other pathways that could be involved.

Yes, to complete in vivo experiments can take quite some time. I don't know for a fact since I do not work in neuroscience, but I know that some animal experiments in this field can be quite lengthy (several months to years). The best experiments to do would be to propose a mechanism for how you think A2A receptor inhibition can be beneficial in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, and then carry that out in an in vivo study. However, if this is not possible, cell culture experiments testing your proposed mechanism might be the best that you could do with the time constraints.

Please let us know if you have further questions and what we can do to help.

Best,
Pharma

[deleted-339605]

Hello Dr. Pharma,

Thank you very much for elaborating on the vitro experimental procedures and how it can be practically demonstrated.
I have a better understanding of it now. However, I don't think that I can get hold of a university level laboratory in order to conduct this experiment because I have exactly 2 months for the competition. I had e-mailed the professors from the University of Toronto and Queens University that specialize in neurodegenerative diseases but they didn't reply.
Due to the time constrains, I am planning on converting my study into a research project. In order to support my theory, I need a sufficient amount of pictures, diagrams, graphics or animations to explain this experimental procedure in more simple scientific terms. It can be even a flow chart. Can you please suggest some ideas or even send potential graphic images that I can use to support my theory and experimental procedure? I can probably get a picture of the brain and talk about the deficiency of the neurotransmitter dopamine and label the neurodegeneration of the substantia nigra too. Any help that you can offer will be greatly appreciated. I would like to thank you once more for taking your time off your busy schedule to help me out with this science fair project

From
Hareshan

[deleted-339605]

Hello,

Do you know anyone that will probably allow me to use a laboratory by any chance for this project or do you have access to any of this specialized equipment in a specialized university laboratory?
I greatly appreciate you for your time and support.

Thanks
Hareshan

[deleted-339605]

If you are unable to get hold of a university laboratory, it is alright. I understand how difficult it is to try to do advanced level experiments like this in a short amount of time. If not can you please reply as soon as possible as to some of the ways that I can present my project effectively using visual representations too such as pictures, diagrams, or flow charts.

From
Hareshan

[deleted-291782]

Hi Hareshan,

You're very welcome; I'm glad to be of assistance to you! I think your plan is a good one moving forward. To plan, order/breed the necessary animal models, carry out the experiment, and analyze the results, it will take a good amount of time (much longer than 2 months). To illustrate your point, gather the relevant literature for your project. This will include all of the research you have done up to this point about the biology of the disease, neurotransmitters involved, etc. You can have a picture of the brain structures with a text box pointing to the area describing the pathology of the disease.

To give a description of the mechanism of action of the receptor inhibition, what we usually do is to have a signaling diagram that depicts proteins/signaling molecules activating or inhibiting other proteins/signaling molecules either upstream or downstream. Here is an example:

https://www.google.com/search?q=signali ... IKz0VwM%3A

The arrows indicate an activation event, whereas the perpendicular lines indicate an inhibition event. You can have a similar diagram for your project. It would be something along these lines:

Caffeine ---I A2A receptor --> ERK1/2

Obviously, your final diagram will have more components, but we can help once you have all the details together from your previous research. Take note: the arrows and perpendicular lines indicate how the upstream protein normally regulates the protein immediately downstream of it. When you add a drug/inhibitor to the system, although the signaling will change, these arrow/line conventions will still be the same. What will change is that you will show that the drug inhibits the upstream receptor and that is all.

I envision that your final product will be an overview of the disease, followed by a proposed mechanism of treatment. Then you can show a signaling diagram showing how this treatment option works at the molecular level. You can even propose experiments that could be done to test this (such as all of the animal work).

Please let us know if you have further questions. Good luck!
Pharma

[deleted-339605]

Hi Pharma

Thanks for elaborating on the signaling pathway diagrams and offering some suggestions as to the layout of my presentation. However, will my diagram have to be as detailed as the one in the image with numerous proteins/signaling molecules for my project? Do I also have to include many factors that affect parkinson's disease on the outer border of the diagram so along the orange line in the picture you sent me?
I am finishing off my online submission now since I have all my research done. One of the subcategories in the application process is the mentor section. I need to give you credit for all the help that you offered me for this project. So, can you please reply with the following information: your first and last name, e-mail address, phone number, organization, and position. Once again, I would like to appreciate you for your time and efforts!


From
Hareshan

[deleted-291782]

Hi Hareshan,

No, your diagram will not have to be as detailed as in the example. The example that I sent includes many different pathways, but for your project, I would just focus on the key pathway that you are interested in describing for your project. I would include some factors that can lead to Parkinson's, but not on the signaling diagram. On the signaling diagram, you will be showing how caffeine treatment affects the pathway of interest. Essentially, you can have two different schematics; one can be showing the factors leading to Parkinson's and the major changes that happen (changes in neurotransmitter levels, etc.), and the other can show how caffeine treatment works (signaling pathway diagram).

And you are very welcome. I am glad to be of assistance to you for this project. The experts here, however, are not permitted with sharing contact/identifying information, and we are limited to assisting through the forums. But you can certainly list us at ScienceBuddies as your mentor!

Please let us know if you have any further questions. Best of luck!

-Pharma

[deleted-339605]

Hi,

I have completed most of my research. I had also found multiple dopamine signaling in Parkinson's disease pathways. However I do not know where to incorporate the adenosine a2a receptors antagonists, its G-Proteins, and ERK1/2.
I have the url code of the pathway that I was studying below.

http://www.cellsignal.com/common/conten ... hways-park

Will I have to create a totally different signalling pathway or is there some way that I can make minimal modifications to this diagram to explain how my treatment would work at a molecular level?

Once again, I would like to thank you for supporting me and any help that you can offer is greatly appreciated.

From
Hareshan

[deleted-291782]

Hi Hareshan,

Yes, so I see that this diagram only incorporates a few of the components you are interested in describing. I wouldn't include all of the other mechanisms into your project, only because it isn't your main focus. You could discuss some of the other pathways in an introduction or something similar, but for your project, you are interested in discussing how blocking the A2A receptor with a specific compound (caffeine) works. Therefore, the key pathways you will describe should just be on this pathway, and how the signaling is modulated following the caffeine treatment.

If you have drawing programs, such as CorelDraw or even PowerPoint, you can make a signaling diagram with only the components of interest to you. This is what should be one of your main figures. I'm assuming you're following the same signaling pathway described in the paper listed earlier in this thread?

Best,
Pharma

[deleted-339605]

Hi,

I think that I have completed most of my research.
Now I am working on putting it all together on a slide show and then pasting it on a 3 panel board.
I have never done a science fair project in the Health Sciences field and especially a study with no experiments before.
Can you tell me all of the components that I must include in a research study project that would be best applicable for my project?
In addition, can you also explain the difference between pre-synaptic vs. post-synaptic in relation to the dopaminergic neurons and adenosine a2a receptors?

From
Hareshan

[deleted-339605]

Hi,

I just have another quick question.
What unit is used to measure the number of adenosine a2a receptor antagonists that are present in the caffeine found in a standard cup of coffee? Do you think that I should also include some statistical data based on this to support my idea?

I would like to thank you once again for your time and cooperation!!!

From
Hareshan

[deleted-291782]

For your project, you will need to have an introduction with background information on the biology of the disease as well as current treatment options. This is where you will lead into your central hypothesis by talking about how caffeine can serve as a treatment based on prior work showing that it can have therapeutic effects.

For the results section, you will be presenting work done by others that shows how/why caffeine is a suitable treatment option. It is within this section that you will present the signaling diagram that illustrates how caffeine affects the proteins downstream of the A2A receptor. You won't really have a methods section since the experiments aren't your own, but you can describe in your own words some of the major experimental methods used in the papers (any in vivo experiments, cell culture work, etc.).

Lastly, you will provide a discussion/future directions section. Here, you essentially provide a critical analysis of why/how caffeine is effective based upon the experimenter's results. In addition, you can talk about additional experiments to perform, or even something else that could be done to increase the therapeutic efficacy of caffeine.

Pre-synaptic versus post-synaptic is referring to the orientation of the cells relative to the synapse. If A2A receptors influence the release of dopamine, then the A2A receptors are located on the pre-synaptic cell, and dopamine is also released from the same pre-synaptic cell to affect the cell across the synapse (i.e. the post-synaptic cell).

For the antagonists, caffeine is the component within coffee that is serving as the receptor antagonist. The concentration of caffeine will vary depending upon a lot of factors, but you can measure it in molar (micromolar, or millimolar as a unit, for example). I don't think you need to include any statistics for this, but I would try to see what levels of caffeine could be reached in the bloodstream and compare that to levels that are known to saturate levels of the A2A receptor in the human brain (if that is known).

Let us know if you have further questions. Best of luck!

-Pharma

[deleted-339605]

Hi,

Thanks for your suggestions. I also think that this would make an excellent layout for the order/sequence of my presentation orally. However, what components should I paste on the tri-panel board. E.g. (abstract, hypothesis, conclusion etc.)
Since my project is only a study, am I still allowed to include the procedure that the other scientists have used to test whether caffeine can have therapeutic effects and its results too?
In terms of visual representations, I have the signalling pathway diagram. In addition I also created a mind map which includes all of the different neuropathalogic symptoms of Parkinson's disease such as bradykinesia, DA neuronal loss, etc. These symptoms branch out into factors that influence or cause fluctuations in these sympatoms such as caffeine (adenosine a2a receptor antagonists) and the effects of L-Dopa too. I was also able to find a diagram talking about how the synapse occurs and how this process is interrupted with adenosine receptors. I also have graphs from the experimental procedure carried out by the scientists showing the fluctuations in dopaminergic neurons in their study. Do you think that I have enough visual representations to support my presentation? Can you please suggest potential visual diagrams/images that will further enhance my project?
What does the discussion part mean? Is it similar to a conclusion?

From,
Hareshan

[deleted-339605]

Hi,

I am also planning on submitting a research report to submit to the
judges or at least let them glance at during my presentation. Some of my peers
are doing the same. I already have all my research done and I have grouped
information with the same content together too.

Do you think that a research report is necessary to submit to the judges?
If it is, what are the different components that I must incorporate to make it
appealing to the judges?

From
Hareshan

[deleted-339605]

Hi,

Adding on to that, the science fair is coming up soon!!!
Can you please post questions that the judges can potentially ask me after my presentation?
I will like to thank you very much for your support and time!!!

From
Hareshan

[deleted-291782]

I think that you can paste the same sections on a tri-panel board for your project. When we design posters for presentations, we will follow the same format. The first section will be the project abstract (which includes a hypothesis), followed by materials/methods, the results, and a discussion/conclusion. I think you can also put the experimental procedures there, but be sure to cite the original authors of the study. This will add further detail illustrating how the results were obtained.

You certainly have enough images/diagrams for your project. My only recommendation would be to put the signaling diagram last; you can put the other images as introductory information, because ultimately you will narrow it down to how caffeine is a suitable treatment option which targets the adenosine receptor. And yes, a discussion is more or less a conclusion. However, a discussion is critical because it also suggests further experiments that can be done in addition to what the results of the current study (your project) mean. It is more like a critical analysis of the results and what any future directions are.

For your last question, I'm not sure if a report would add anything to your project, unless you plan to include additional information/studies into it. Typically, judges will assess your poster and will ask you questions on the spot about the research. I do not feel they would read any other material in depth that you may hand out. However, I'm not sure about your school's setup for your fair. I'm simply going off of personal experience with poster presentations/judging.

Some judging questions I could pose to you could be the following:

-What plasma concentrations of caffeine would be necessary to have a therapeutic effect?
-How does caffeine inhibit the action of the adenosine receptor? (competitive versus non-competitive inhibition, etc.)
-Following caffeine administration, how are the levels of dopamine ultimately regulated by the receptor? (Going back to the signaling diagram)
-What other treatments could be coupled to caffeine treatment to have maximum benefit to the patient?

Best,
Pharma

[deleted-339605]

Hello Dr. Pharma,

I have a small doubt.
For the first question which asks "what plasma concentrations of caffeine would be necessary to have a therapeutic effect?"; do you want me to support my response with the concentration of caffeine that will be dissolved in the rodent's blood based on that vivo study or do you want me to make an estimated guess to determine the plasma concentration that will be mixed in the human blood stream?

Thanks,
Hareshan

[deleted-291782]

I'm sorry, I should have specified further. I meant within the human bloodstream; so, what concentrations may have a therapeutic effect and how could this treatment be administered?

[deleted-339605]

Hello Dr. Pharma,

I have the answers to the sample questions you sent me to prepare me for the science fair.

1. What plasma concentrations of caffeine would be necessary to have a therapeutic effect and how can this treatment be administered into the human bloodstream?
Note: plasma concentration is the amount of a compound present in the portion of the blood.

Approximately, humans consume 300-400 mg of caffeine a day. However, the half life of caffeine in humans is approximately five hours. So it takes about 5 hours for the our bodies to get rid of half of the caffeine concentration after consuming a cup of coffee. Caffeine is absorbed and passes quickly into the brain. It does not collect in the bloodstream or get stored in the body. It leaves the body in the urine many hours after it has been consumed. We cannot expect any therapeutic results immediately, my research only supports that chronic consumption of coffee (caffeine treatment) can have therapeutic effects. Often doctors use Mini-Osmotic Pumps to infuse similar drugs/compounds into the human body. However, a daily supplement of coffee with the presence of caffeine of about 300-400 mg is sufficient to have a therapeutic effect on PD in the long term.

2. How does caffeine inhibit the action of the adenosine receptor? (competitive versus noncompetitive inhibition, etc.)

Caffeine inhibits the action of the adenosine receptor by the activation of adenosine a2a receptor antagonists that are present in caffeine. It up regulates the two major enzymes in the signaling pathway known as adenylyl cyclase (AC) and the cAMP production in cells so that there will be enhanced synaptic responses between dopaminergic neurons.

3.Following caffeine administration, how are the levels of dopamine ultimately regulated by the receptor? (Going back to the signaling diagram)

Through the administration of caffeine, the levels of dopamine are ultimately regulated by the adenosine a2a receptors antagonists that are present in this compound. Adenosine A2A receptors signal or activate phosphorylate (PDE) to a greater degree which degrades the cyclic AMP into AMP (adenosine monophosphate) and effect the neuron communication poorly. The process of degrading cAMP can impact various intracellular activity (responses). cAMP plays a fundamental role in the cellular response to many hormones and neurotransmitters. The level of intracellular cAMP is regulated by the balance between the activity of two types of enzyme: adenylyl cyclase (AC) which activations cAMP and the cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE). So inhibiting these a2a receptors using caffeine can enhance the intracellular signalling by the inhibition event of PDE and the reinforcement of AC resulting in elevated cAMP levels and stopping PD.

4. What other treatments could be coupled to caffeine treatment to have maximum benefit to the patient?

I think that caffeine treatment coupled with Levodopa (L-Dopa) and Carbidopa treatment can provide maximum benefit to the patient because the combination of these two drugs are capable of protecting the existing DA neurons and reducing the severity of the symptoms. So the addition of caffeine will increase the effectiveness of the neuroprotection process and thus we can prevent the progression or beginning of PD at a much greater degree.

Do you think that I must be also prepared to answer general questions such as "what inspired you to do this project", " who might want to know this information", " what was the hardest part/easiest part", " What will you do next", and etc?

I kindly request you to provide some feedback as to the quality of my answers and how I can modify my responses accordingly to address the question in a highly effective manner.

From,
Hareshan

[deleted-339605]

Hi,

Can you please help me find the correct answer for question 1 because I wasn't able to find any studies that indicated the plasma concentration of caffeine that should be present in the human bloodstream to have therapeutic effects.
I just tried answering how this treatment is administered and the half life of caffeine.
Can you please think of more questions regarding my project so that I will be more prepared?

From.
Hareshan

[deleted-291782]

Hello,

Here is some feedback from your responses:

1) You sufficiently answered this question; the end of your response where you indicate therapeutic doses of caffeine for PD treatment looks good to me.

2) For this question, caffeine is the antagonist that inhibits the receptor. However, there are differing mechanisms of action for receptor inhibition. For example, caffeine could compete with the natural ligand for the receptor (competitive inhibition) or it could bind at an allosteric site (non-competitive inhibition). Were you able to find this information?

3) So in this mechanism, caffeine inhibits the receptor, leading to decreased PDE activity and increased cAMP. Then, cAMP plays a role in the upregulation of dopamine. This answer looks good, but what about the other components of your previous schematic (ERK1/2, etc.)?

4) The answer to this question looks great.

You can definitely include answers to the other questions you posed. I think overall you have a good handle on how to address these questions, and you have definitely done a lot of research. I don't feel there is much else I could ask in relation to your project. Do you have any further questions?

Best,
Pharma

[deleted-339605]

Hi,

For question #2, I understand that caffeine is the antagonist that inhibits the receptor. However, I wasn't able to find any information regarding the differing mechanisms of action for receptor inhibition as you stated.
Can you please explain the competitive vs. non-competitive inhibition?

The York Region Science and Technology Fair is on the upcoming Saturday April 2nd, 2016.
I have less than a week!!!
So, can you please help me with this asap?

Thanks for supporting me throughout this project!

From
Hareshan

[deleted-339605]

Hi Dr. Pharma,

The science fair went well yesterday. I won a bronze medal at the fair.
I was also on ctv news when I was presenting my project.
Here is the cite that you can use to check it out.
http://toronto.ctvnews.ca/video?playlistId=1.2843034

Thank you very much for helping me through the the entire project
from helping me create a signaling pathway diagram to helping me
plan the layout of this presentation. It was a great experience working
with you.

I hope that you can help me with other health Science projects
in the future as well.

Thanks,
Hareshan

[deleted-291782]

Hi Hareshan,

I'm so sorry for the late reply. I'm very glad to hear that the fair went very well. A congratulations is in order for you on your medal! I'm happy to be of assistance to you for this project. Feel free to come back to the forums anytime for help on any future projects.

Best,
Pharma

[deleted-339605]

Hello scientist Pharma,

Happy New Year!!! This is Hareshan from last year. Thanks for helping me with my science fair project last year and I couldn't have been successful last year without your guidance.
This year, I am going to participate in the York Region Science Fair again and my goal is to win gold so that I can go to the Canada Wide Science fair. Last Year I won bronze.
I am interested in doing research into diabetes because currently there is no cure.
I was doing some research to see whether I could do anything with regards to genetic modifications or stem cell treatment to treat diabetes but that had already been done as well.
I was doing some more research on diabetes and I came across diabetic retinopathy which is one of the chronic effects caused by diabetes due to hyperglycemia. As you may know, this condition is associated with damage to the tiny blood vessels in the retina which ultimately leads to hemorrhage (bleed), distorting vision. In its most advanced stage, new abnormal blood vessels proliferate (increase in number) on the surface of the retina, which can lead to scarring and cell loss in the retina. I was wondering whether I can develop some form of lens that can convert ultraviolet radiation to kill some of the proliferative leaking blood vessels which can be equivalent to laser eye surgery, one or the current methods of treating this condition.
Is there any research that has been done on this?
If not, can you help me with my research for this science fair project?
Once again, I would like to convey my heartfelt thanks for being my mentor and guiding me through this project

Regards,
Hareshan