LumenPro Eye Drops Frequently Asked Questions
What is LumenPro?
LumenPro is an eye drop formula that contains 0.25% lanosterol and 1% n-acetylcarnosine. LumenPro uses patent-pending technology to ensure that lanosterol is delivered to the lens of the eye. Lanosterol is capable of reversing crystallin protein deformation that causes cataracts. LumenPro is recommended for use in animals suffering from cataracts.
How does LumenPro work against cataracts?
Lanosterol is the main ingredient supplemented to the eye by LumenPro. Lanosterol helps to align and restore the crystallin proteins in the eye lens. These proteins are what makes the lens clear (in healthy individuals) or cloudy (in individuals suffering from cataracts.) Everything humans and animals see passes through these crystallin proteins so they must be in a natural and stable form to maintain lens clarity.
Damage occurring through age, injury, disease, diet or genetics can cause these proteins to become misshapen or deformed. These deformed proteins are likely to collect with other deformed proteins and even cause the healthy proteins around them to begin deforming. These collections of deformed proteins are cataracts.
Lanosterol helps to reverse the collection (aggregation) of these deformed proteins and is believed to restore proteins that are in the early stages of deformation. As the clump (aggregate) of cataract-causing proteins is broken up, light begins to pass through the eyes normally and vision can be restored. Similarly, n-acetylcarnosine has shown effectiveness at reducing cataract severity and is an anti-oxidant, which helps prevent further damage to the lens.
LumenPro is the only commercially-available eye drop that delivers both of these ingredients to the eyes in effective quantities.
What studies have been conducted on lanosterol eye drops’ efficacy for cataracts in pets?
The 2015 study, Lanosterol reverses protein aggregation in cataracts (Nature, 2015) demonstrated the effectiveness of lanosterol in treating cataracts in rabbits and dogs. A subsequent, seemingly contradictory paper, Failure of oxysterols such as lanosterol to restore lens clarity from cataracts, was conducted with human lens protein solubilization studies.
The premise that because all mammals have LSS lanosterol synthase pathways led to optimism that it would work on all mammals. While rabbits and dogs are on the clinical pathway to humans, lanosterol holds promise for human treatment, but has not been sufficiently studied.
When is it too early, or too late, to begin lanosterol treatment?
The earlier the better. After the initial 90 days, many veterinarians recommend reducing treatment to a maintenance dose. (For example, reducing dosage from 2 drops 2x day to 1 drop 2x a day or 2 drops 1x day in the veterinary strength formula; consumer strength dosage is 2-3 drops 2x day). The maintenance dosage supplements the body’s natural lanosterol to the eye, if body isn’t producing enough lanosterol due to age, diabetes, etc.
LumenPro may also prove beneficial as a preventative medicine in animals whose age, breed, or condition like diabetes make cataracts extremely likely.
It is likely too late to reverse cataracts with lanosterol if the animal has already lost vision in the eye.
What is the dosage?
The recommended dosage according to our assessments is 1-3 drops (0.05-0.15 mL) per eye, given twice daily. More formal guidelines are as follows:
- Dogs, Cats: 2 drops (0.3 ml – 0.5 ml) administered to each eye. 6-12 hours between applications.
- Horses: 3 drops (0.45 ml – 0.75 ml) administered to each eye. 6-12 hours between applications.
- Rabbits, Guinea Pigs, Rodents: 1 drop (0.15 ml – 0.25 ml) administered to each eye. 6-12 hours between applications.
- Diabetic Animals: The majority of animals suffering from diabetes will develop cataracts. For the best outcome, please ensure your pet’s diabetes is treated and under control before using LumenPro.
How long does 1 bottle of LumenPro Last?
For an animal with two afflicted eyes, 1-3 drops translates anywhere from 15-45 days of treatment, depending on the chosen dosage. We find most customers use each bottle for 3-4 weeks.
Are there any Contraindications?
LumenPro is believed to have negligible systemic uptake. There are no known contraindications between LumenPro and medications.
How is LumenPro’s formula tested and validated for veterinary patients?
We use aseptic processes, manufactured and packaged in a controlled environment per documented processes, ensuring the product and its packaging remain sterile from formulation to filling and packaging.
All manufacturing (vs terminal sterilization), steps are documented (due diligence). LumenPro is pursuing FDA approval and an NDC (national drug code)—while this applies primarily to human drugs, it is a requirement of some e-commerce channels, due to issues with human eye drop products.
What is the difference between LumenPro’s regular formula and veterinary strength?
LumenPro veterinary strength offers a lower dose, higher concentration formula, .375%, 50% stronger than the consumer formulation at .25%. The stronger formulation improves pet owners’ compliance with treatment, requiring only 1 drop per day, at under $1/day.
LumenPro feedback from the vet community is favorable and clear. With limited ophthalmic specialists for referral and infrequent client follow-through, vets are excited to have a new treatment option and a veterinary-exclusive product.
Does LumenPro work on all animals?
LumenPro was developed using many different eye specimens. The final product of LumenPro is highly viscous and engineered with Canine (dog) eyes in mind. However, LumenPro has been shown to work on rabbits, and customers have reported positive results for dogs, mice, rats, horses and camels. Almost all mammals share the same proteins in their eye lenses, and the pathways regulating them. So lanosterol supplementation likely reduces cataract severity for any mammal.
How should I advise pet owners about eye drops available on consumer sites such as Amazon or Chewy eye drops?
Buyer beware. There are known issues with a number of consumer ecommerce veterinary medicines. The FDA took seven human eye drop products off the market 18 months ago, causing Amazon to drop all eye drops out of risk management. LumenPro has sought independent validation from a third-party lab for a number of eye drops claiming to contain lanosterol, and every competitive product tested to date has failed to meet its active ingredient claims.
Is LumenPro shelf-stable?
Yes—LumenPro lanosterol drops have been tested for 24 months, through both accelerated and real-time stability tests.
Are LumenPro eye drops suitable for office dispensing?
LumenPro eye drops are suited for office-use and dispensing, in states that allow veterinarians to do so. Bulk discounts or drop-ship direct-to-client options are available.
How often should I monitor patients after they begin lanosterol treatment?
Our guidance is a 90-day follow-up. New cataracts or insipient cataracts will see the quickest results. LumenPro 3-pack drops will ensure 90-day treatment in the consumer formulation.
When should clients expect visible change?
Pet owners should watch for two changes: visible cloudiness, and behavioral change. Pet owners will, of course, struggle to diagnose ocular diseases in animals, but may notice changes like a new fear of stairs, or bumping into objects. They may notice behavioral improvement earlier than cloudiness.
If I observe cloudy eyes in a patient, what is the protocol before recommending LumenPro?
An ophthalmic referral may still be important to rule out a misdiagnosis. If you are able to determine that eye cloudiness is a cataract, and rule out nuclear sclerosis—cloudiness from the outside of the eye, not inside—consider lanosterol drops.
There are 2 contraindications—untreated diabetes and low tear production. LumenPro may still offer some benefits while changes are made to address diabetes. Schirmer’s tear test can help determine if the animal has lower than normal tear production.
If the animal experiences irritation or redness from LumenPro, discontinue and use saline or lubricant eye drop to clear it.
How do I recommend an appropriate dosage of LumenPro eye drops?
Prescribe enough drops to coat the surface of the eye. LumenPro has been used effectively on a wide range of animals, from dogs and rabbits, to horses and even a tiger. A recommendation of 1-4 drops is a reasonable guideline to help decide the right dose for your patient.
After I prescribe LumenPro, what should follow-up look like?
Schedule a follow-up in-office visit in 90 days to look for visible and/or behavioral change. If there is no change, the animal may be misdiagnosed or too advanced for a positive outcome, and a referral to an ophthalmic specialist is advised.
Do I need a prescription for LumenPro?
No, a prescription is not required for LumenPro. LumenPro eye drops are a vision health supplement, and not a drug.
How many bottles of LumenPro does it take to reverse my pet’s cataracts?
LumenPro cannot guarantee the reversal of cataracts. LumenPro is not a medication and does not claim to “treat” or “reverse” any condition. LumenPro supplements lanosterol to the lens of the eye which can lead to dramatic improvements in animals suffering from cataracts.
Due to the variety of cataracts, and their varying severity (see types of cataracts FAQs), it is not possible to say how long customers must use LumenPro before they are happy with the results. Most customers are satisfied with progress after 3-5 bottles.
How much improvement should I expect in my animal’s eyes?
Animals suffering from new/developing cataracts will see the most improvement within the first 6 weeks. Cataracts that are very large, opaque and old will see much slower improvement compared to cataracts that are light and newly-formed.
Can I use LumenPro on myself or another human?
LumenPro is not for human use. However, we are exploring the viability of a lanosterol-based product for humans.
Primarily, human eye lenses have shown to be significantly less permeable to lanosterol than the lenses of dogs and rabbits. This is likely due to the uniquely effective clearance of human eyes, and the lower residence time that such effective clearance confers.
Additionally, human eyes must function much longer than animal eyes due to the duration of human lifetimes compared to those of animals. Interestingly, no human-use commercial ophthalmic products use a delivery mechanism for similar to that of LumenPro. This fact requires us to perform diligent research regarding the effect of our delivery system on the eyes over long periods of time.
My pet’s cataracts are gone. Do I need to keep my animal on LumenPro forever to prevent them from coming back?
If your pet’s vision has improved after 90 days of using LumenPro as directed, we recommend using a lower maintenance dosage to prevent the cataracts from reappearing. Applying one drop to the affected eye, every other day, is usually sufficient.
My dog’s eyes are sticky and/or red after using LumenPro. Should I be concerned?
Yes. LumenPro is a viscous eye drop, but should never cause inflammation in a healthy animal’s eyes. If your dog’s eyes are red for over 3 hours after using LumenPro, it could mean a number of things. We strongly advise taking your dog to your veterinarian. If you are unsure if your dog is handling LumenPro well, you can administer over-the-counter saline eye drops such as “Visine” 30 minutes after LumenPro applications. If this clears the redness, you can continue using LumenPro in combination with saline drops. If the redness is still present, discontinue use of LumenPro until consulting with your veterinarian.
Why are my dog’s eye’s red after using LumenPro?
Please discontinue using LumenPro if your dog’s eyes appear irritated three hours after application. You may also administer an over-the-counter saline eye drop (e.g. Visine).
Do you ship internationally?
Yes, LumenPro can be purchased worldwide. However, some countries may have additional tariffs or may not allow imports of our products.
How long does it take to ship if I purchase through LumenPro?
Domestic orders will be received in 5 to 10 business days. Delivery of international orders varies by country, and may require 1 to 3 weeks to clear customs and reach their destination.
Where does my order ship from?
LumenPro is manufactured in Pittsford, New York. Orders are fulfilled from warehouses throughout the USA and Canada.
