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Posted under Educational
Millions of people could have their eyesight saved thanks to ground-breaking laser treatment that has the potential to eradicate the most common cause of blindness.
One of Britain’s leading eye experts has developed a technique to reverse the disabling effects of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which leaves many older people unable to read, drive or live independently, and eventually robs them of sight in one or both eyes.
Professor John Marshall has developed a way of “cleaning” eyes which, due to the ageing process, have accumulated tiny particles of debris which start to cloud their sight. His pioneering technique uses a painless “short pulse” laser to solve the otherwise intractable problem of how to help the eye’s waste disposal system do its job after it has been weakened by age.
Marshall, a senior ophthalmologist at King’s College London, said he hopes this “retinal regeneration therapy” could prevent and reverse the onset of AMD.
The technique works by rejuvenating a thin membrane behind the retina, called Bruch’s membrane. Over time this membrane becomes so “clogged” with the by-product of cell renewal that vital nutrients can no longer cross from the bloodstream into the retina and excess material becomes trapped, unable to pass in the other direction. This leads to the death of retinal cells and, in time, to AMD and eventual blindness.
Marshall’s technique promises to prevent and even reverse the process, allowing the eye to return to something like its youthful, uncluttered state. In a clinical trial involving more than 100 diabetics, Marshall found that focusing a laser beam on one part of the retina helps stimulate the release of enzymes, which then set about cleaning up the waste material. Participants reported this led to a marked improvement in their sight.
Marshall now plans to conduct a wider trial among those suffering the early stages of AMD. In most cases the “clogging” begins when people reach their mid-40s, but does not always lead to significant sight loss. Some are more at risk, because of a number of factors in addition to their age. These include genetics – such as a family history of AMD. Women are more likely to suffer, and environmental factors can play a part, with smokers at greater risk….
Source for complete article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/jul/05/blindness-laser-cure-amd
Posted under Educational
The discovery of the compound’s function in inflammation and blood vessel formation related to eye disease means scientists can now develop new therapies –including eye drops – to stop diabetic retinopathy, a disease which affects as many as five million Americans with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
“There is no good treatment for diabetic retinopathy, which is why we are so excited about this work. This opens an entirely new area for pharmaceutical companies to target,” said Jay Ma, the principal investigator on the project and a research partner at the OU Health Sciences Center, Dean A. McGee Eye Institute and the Harold Hamm Oklahoma Diabetes Center.
Diabetic retinopathy is the most common diabetic eye disease and a leading cause of blindness in American adults. It is caused by changes in blood vessels of the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. In some people with diabetic retinopathy, blood vessels may swell and leak fluid. In other people, abnormal new blood vessels grow on the surface of the retina. Over time, diabetic retinopathy can get worse and cause some vision loss or blindness.
Oklahoma researchers found that this inflammation and leakage is caused by an imbalance of two systems in the eye. To restore balance, they delivered the new compound to cells using nanoparticle technology. The treatment in research models stopped the leakage, blocked inflammation and kept unwanted blood vessels from growing. Researchers are now testing the compound’s uses for cancer and age-related macular degeneration.
By University of Oklahoma
Source for complete article: http://www.huliq.com/11/83025/natural-compound-stops-diabetic-retinopathy
Posted under Educational
Allergan Inc. said today, June 18th, 2009, that the Food and Drug Administration approved a drug it developed to treat macular edema, a condition that can cause loss of central vision.
Irvine-based Allergan says the drug, trade-named Ozurdex, is the first and only drug therapy approved for treating macular edema associated with retinal vein occlusion, the second-most common retinal vascular disease that leads to vision loss.
Macular edema affects about 150,000 people a year. It is different from macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in people over age 50.
Source for complete article: http://ocbiz.freedomblogging.com/2009/06/18/fda-approves-allergan-anti-sight-loss-drug/12781/
