As childhood myopia surges, SIU team finds cleaner, cheaper way to make a key drug
If it seems like more children are wearing glasses, you’re not imagining it. By 2050, scientists project about 50% of tthis he world’s population will be nearsighted. As families and clinicians look for ways to slow that trend, a team led by Southern Illinois University Carbondale researchers has developed a cleaner, lower-cost process to make 7-methylxanthine (7-MX), an oral drug used in Europe to treat childhood myopia.