Finding macular degeneration treatment s. Vision problems due to the onset of macular degeneration are quite prevalent, especially in the elderly. Macular degeneration occurs when the macula, located in the central portion of the retina in the eye, becomes weakened or damaged. The result is a loss of central vision. Central vision is used to read and drive, so it is crucial to save as much of a patient’s vision as possible as soon as possible. Although this medical condition has no cure at this time, there are some promising new macular degeneration treatments that have shown to alleviate and slow down some of the symptoms of age-related macular degeneration.
There is a range of vision loss that can occur depending on the severity and type of age-related macular degeneration a patient has. Because it affects the macula located in the center of the retina, a patient’s peripheral vision is usually not adversely affected by the condition. With the onset of the condition, a patient’s vision might still be quite good, but the situation can worsen over time. There are two different types of age-related macular degeneration that often result in the greatest loss of central vision, and they are called wet and dry. The dry form of advanced macular degeneration is caused by the reduction of the rods and cones located in the retina, while wet advanced macular degeneration occurs due to leakage of excessive blood vessels and the resulting scarring under the macula.
One thing that retinal specialists might tell their patients with macular degeneration is to take certain vitamins as part of a spectrum of macular degeneration treatment s. Patients in the initial onset stages of this condition sometimes benefit from taking vitamins C, E, zinc, lutein, zeaxanthin and eating foods that are high in beta-carotenes, such as dark green leafy vegetables, corn and peas.
Another macular degeneration treatment can be found in cholesterol reducing drugs. People in the early stages of this medical condition often develop drusen, or yellow deposits, in the macula. The development and increase in the number of drusen seems to be related to the patient’s cholesterol level, with drusen more prevalent in those with higher cholesterol. Medications, such as statins, which reduce cholesterol, and aspirin, which reduces inflammation, may have a significant impact on reducing the size and number of drusen in the macula and thus lessen the chances of someone developing age-related macular degeneration.
A couple of wet advanced macular degeneration treatments, Macugen and Lucentis, have been approved by the FDA. Macugen is useful because it helps to reduce the number of excessive blood vessels that can grow under the retina. These can become inflamed and eventually burst, causing vision problems. Lucentis also reduces the growth of too many blood vessels. Lucentis is administered as an injection under the eye, and offers a great new treatment option for some patients with these kinds of vision problems.
The future is looking brighter with these emerging new macular degeneration treatments.
Susan Slobac has had a parent diagnosed with macular degeneration. She has had experience in macular degeneration treatment. In this article, she discusses macular degeneration risk factors.
For more information follow us at www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Wider access to drug to prevent and reverse eye damage
By: Staff Writer
Manitobans now have wider access to a drug to prevent and reverse eye damage, Health Minister Theresa Oswald said Wednesday.
The drug Lucentis is now available through doctors' offices to treat wet macular degeneration.
Last March the province said Manitoba Health would cover Lucentis treatment though the Misericordia Eye Centre of Excellence as of June 1.
At that time the province said it wanted to expand patient access to Lucentis through other retinal specialists' offices.
Oswald said Lucentis is now accessible through doctors' offices ahead of schedule.
Wet macular degeneration is a disease that can impair vision and cause blindness.
Lucentis has been available at no cost to Manitobans with wet macular degeneration since June 1 through the Misericordia and Manitoba retinal specialists.
Manitoba Health says up to 1,000 patients could benefit from this new program annually.
Manitobans now have wider access to a drug to prevent and reverse eye damage, Health Minister Theresa Oswald said Wednesday.
The drug Lucentis is now available through doctors' offices to treat wet macular degeneration.
Last March the province said Manitoba Health would cover Lucentis treatment though the Misericordia Eye Centre of Excellence as of June 1.
At that time the province said it wanted to expand patient access to Lucentis through other retinal specialists' offices.
Oswald said Lucentis is now accessible through doctors' offices ahead of schedule.
Wet macular degeneration is a disease that can impair vision and cause blindness.
Lucentis has been available at no cost to Manitobans with wet macular degeneration since June 1 through the Misericordia and Manitoba retinal specialists.
Manitoba Health says up to 1,000 patients could benefit from this new program annually.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Dampening a light-sensing reaction in the eye might slow a common cause of blindness
MIT Technology Review, by Emily Singer - Molecules designed to slow the production of toxic byproducts in the eye by making it less sensitive to light are now being tested in patients with macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in people age 50 and older. If successful, the compounds would provide a much needed therapy for the disease, which affects more than 15 million people in the United States.
In macular degeneration, cells in the center of the eye, called the macula, deteriorate. A handful of new treatments for the more severe form of the disease, known as wet AMD, have been approved in recent years. But no treatments are yet available for the dry form, which accounts for about 90 percent of cases. Some dry cases ultimately progress to the wet form, which accounts for a large part of AMD-related blindness. “If you can treat dry AMD, you can kill two birds with one stone,” both reducing early symptoms and preventing progression to the wet form, says Paul Sieving, director of the National Eye Institute, in Bethesda, MD.
While scientists are still trying to understand the causes of AMD–age is the biggest risk factor, with genetics and lifestyle factors also playing a role–a growing pool of evidence suggests that the build up of specific compounds in the eye can hasten the cellular damage that underlies the disease. These compounds accumulate in the photoreceptors–cells in the retina that detect light–during normal eye function as the light-sensitive pigments in these cells change conformation in response to photons.
One form of the photopigment, a derivative of vitamin A, is highly reactive and leaks into nearby tissue called the retinal pigment epithelium. “Over time we think these compounds are a burden for the retinal pigment epithelium, which is essential for the healthy function of the photoreceptors,” says Janet Sparrow, director of the Retinal Cell Biology Laboratory at Columbia University, in New York. “In age-related macular degeneration, particularly the dry form, these cells die, and the photoreceptors follow.”
While this reaction is vital for sight, researchers believe that slowing the cycle in the subset of photoreceptors responsible for night vision, known as rods, could slow damage without having a large impact on daytime vision. (Preliminary results suggest it can affect dark-adaptation–when our eyes adjust to low-light conditions.) “During the daytime, the rods are spinning like crazy, wasting vitamin A for no good use,” says Ryo Kubota, an ophthalmologist and founder of Acucela, a Seattle-based startup that is developing treatments for macular degeneration. “It’s like a CCD camera pointed at the sun.”
One compound developed by Acucela that is in clinical trials inhibits the enzyme that converts the photopigment in photoreceptors from one form to another. This process happens only in the eye, allowing the drug to be administered systemically without affecting other tissue, says Kubota. The company has finished initial safety testing in humans and plans to begin a clinical trial assessing the compound’s effectiveness in patients with late-stage dry macular degeneration in a few weeks. Kubota also aims to test the compound in diabetic retinopathy and Stargardt disease, a rare, genetically inherited form of macular degeneration.
A second drug that acts by a slightly different mechanism is being evaluated for macular degeneration by Sirion Therapeutics, a Florida-based pharmaceutical company. The compound is a synthetic vitamin A derivative that is thought to reduce toxin buildup by binding to one of the proteins involved in the reaction. According to preliminary results from tests of the drug in patients with late-stage dry macular degeneration, it can slow the scarring that is characteristic of the disease by 45 percent. However, scientists won’t know if the results are statistically significant until completion of the study next year. Because no treatments had been approved for dry AMD, in 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration fast-tracked the drug, speeding the review process.
In macular degeneration, cells in the center of the eye, called the macula, deteriorate. A handful of new treatments for the more severe form of the disease, known as wet AMD, have been approved in recent years. But no treatments are yet available for the dry form, which accounts for about 90 percent of cases. Some dry cases ultimately progress to the wet form, which accounts for a large part of AMD-related blindness. “If you can treat dry AMD, you can kill two birds with one stone,” both reducing early symptoms and preventing progression to the wet form, says Paul Sieving, director of the National Eye Institute, in Bethesda, MD.
While scientists are still trying to understand the causes of AMD–age is the biggest risk factor, with genetics and lifestyle factors also playing a role–a growing pool of evidence suggests that the build up of specific compounds in the eye can hasten the cellular damage that underlies the disease. These compounds accumulate in the photoreceptors–cells in the retina that detect light–during normal eye function as the light-sensitive pigments in these cells change conformation in response to photons.
One form of the photopigment, a derivative of vitamin A, is highly reactive and leaks into nearby tissue called the retinal pigment epithelium. “Over time we think these compounds are a burden for the retinal pigment epithelium, which is essential for the healthy function of the photoreceptors,” says Janet Sparrow, director of the Retinal Cell Biology Laboratory at Columbia University, in New York. “In age-related macular degeneration, particularly the dry form, these cells die, and the photoreceptors follow.”
While this reaction is vital for sight, researchers believe that slowing the cycle in the subset of photoreceptors responsible for night vision, known as rods, could slow damage without having a large impact on daytime vision. (Preliminary results suggest it can affect dark-adaptation–when our eyes adjust to low-light conditions.) “During the daytime, the rods are spinning like crazy, wasting vitamin A for no good use,” says Ryo Kubota, an ophthalmologist and founder of Acucela, a Seattle-based startup that is developing treatments for macular degeneration. “It’s like a CCD camera pointed at the sun.”
One compound developed by Acucela that is in clinical trials inhibits the enzyme that converts the photopigment in photoreceptors from one form to another. This process happens only in the eye, allowing the drug to be administered systemically without affecting other tissue, says Kubota. The company has finished initial safety testing in humans and plans to begin a clinical trial assessing the compound’s effectiveness in patients with late-stage dry macular degeneration in a few weeks. Kubota also aims to test the compound in diabetic retinopathy and Stargardt disease, a rare, genetically inherited form of macular degeneration.
A second drug that acts by a slightly different mechanism is being evaluated for macular degeneration by Sirion Therapeutics, a Florida-based pharmaceutical company. The compound is a synthetic vitamin A derivative that is thought to reduce toxin buildup by binding to one of the proteins involved in the reaction. According to preliminary results from tests of the drug in patients with late-stage dry macular degeneration, it can slow the scarring that is characteristic of the disease by 45 percent. However, scientists won’t know if the results are statistically significant until completion of the study next year. Because no treatments had been approved for dry AMD, in 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration fast-tracked the drug, speeding the review process.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Radiation and Lucentis Combined to Treat Macular Degeneration
by Randall V. Wong M.D
External beam radiation and Lucentis may be combined to treat wet macular degeneration. The results showed the treatment may be very safe and, when combined with anti-VEGF injections such as Lucentis, may decrease the need for frequently repeated injections.
Neovascularization, the growth of abnormal blood vessels, underneath the macular defines “wet macular degeneration.”
Radiation Kills Cells
Radiation treatments have been used in and around the eye to treat tumors. Radiation, in this case, halts the replication of cells. In the case of tumors, the lesions can no longer grow. So too, with neovascularization, new growth is inhibited. This is not the first study that has investigated the use of radiation for wet macular degeneration, but this is one of first trials combining external beam radiation with Lucentis.
Side Effects of Radiation to the Eye
Radiation can be toxic to the eye. It can cause cataracts, damage to the optic nerve and retina. It may also damage the lacrimal (produces tears to the eye) system and cause dry eye.
The investigators were able to dose and administer the radiation safely, seemingly able to avoid the usual complications of external beam radiation.
Treatment Required Fewer Injections of Lucentis
The gold standard for treating wet macular degeneration is now injections with either Lucentis or Avastin. The injections, however, need to be repeated as often as monthly. While highly successful, the need for repeated treatment requires a lot of trips to the office and can be expensive.
The study combined the use of the popular anti-VEGF agent, Lucentis (ranibizumab). The design of the trial required 2 initial injections during the first month of treatment.
52% of patients did not require additional injections for the 12 month study period (they only had 2!).
Also noteworthy, most patients stabilized and actually improved their vision.
What Does This Mean? This is not an approved treatment. It is in no way a true “study,” but this small trial still has some merits. It provides us with a small amount of evidence that alternative treatments using radiation may be useful.
First, recall that anti-VEGF injections, such as Lucentis or Avastin, now standard therapy for wet macular degeneration, were developed for chemotherapy against several types of cancers. The discovery that this improved patients with macular degeneration was coincidental.
For instance, patients receiving chemotherapy for colon cancer started noting improvement in their vision. Evidently, these patients had both cancer and wet macular degeneration.
External beam radiation has long been used for many types of cancer treatments.
In both cases, agents that halt rapidly dividing (i.e. growing) tissues should be effective in both the cancer treatment and the eye disease. The radiation stymies cell replication and the Lucentis (anti-VEGF) inhibits grow of new blood vessels. In the case of cancer, a tumor can not enlarge without blood supply.
So, it makes sense that this may work.
Lastly, this really underscores the need for treatments that do not need to be repeated so frequently, such is the case with Lucentis and Avastin. Right now, most doctors inject as frequently as every 4-6 weeks! Drug delivery systems designed to release drug over an extended period may aid this as well.
External beam radiation and Lucentis may be combined to treat wet macular degeneration. The results showed the treatment may be very safe and, when combined with anti-VEGF injections such as Lucentis, may decrease the need for frequently repeated injections.
Neovascularization, the growth of abnormal blood vessels, underneath the macular defines “wet macular degeneration.”
Radiation Kills Cells
Radiation treatments have been used in and around the eye to treat tumors. Radiation, in this case, halts the replication of cells. In the case of tumors, the lesions can no longer grow. So too, with neovascularization, new growth is inhibited. This is not the first study that has investigated the use of radiation for wet macular degeneration, but this is one of first trials combining external beam radiation with Lucentis.
Side Effects of Radiation to the Eye
Radiation can be toxic to the eye. It can cause cataracts, damage to the optic nerve and retina. It may also damage the lacrimal (produces tears to the eye) system and cause dry eye.
The investigators were able to dose and administer the radiation safely, seemingly able to avoid the usual complications of external beam radiation.
Treatment Required Fewer Injections of Lucentis
The gold standard for treating wet macular degeneration is now injections with either Lucentis or Avastin. The injections, however, need to be repeated as often as monthly. While highly successful, the need for repeated treatment requires a lot of trips to the office and can be expensive.
The study combined the use of the popular anti-VEGF agent, Lucentis (ranibizumab). The design of the trial required 2 initial injections during the first month of treatment.
52% of patients did not require additional injections for the 12 month study period (they only had 2!).
Also noteworthy, most patients stabilized and actually improved their vision.
What Does This Mean? This is not an approved treatment. It is in no way a true “study,” but this small trial still has some merits. It provides us with a small amount of evidence that alternative treatments using radiation may be useful.
First, recall that anti-VEGF injections, such as Lucentis or Avastin, now standard therapy for wet macular degeneration, were developed for chemotherapy against several types of cancers. The discovery that this improved patients with macular degeneration was coincidental.
For instance, patients receiving chemotherapy for colon cancer started noting improvement in their vision. Evidently, these patients had both cancer and wet macular degeneration.
External beam radiation has long been used for many types of cancer treatments.
In both cases, agents that halt rapidly dividing (i.e. growing) tissues should be effective in both the cancer treatment and the eye disease. The radiation stymies cell replication and the Lucentis (anti-VEGF) inhibits grow of new blood vessels. In the case of cancer, a tumor can not enlarge without blood supply.
So, it makes sense that this may work.
Lastly, this really underscores the need for treatments that do not need to be repeated so frequently, such is the case with Lucentis and Avastin. Right now, most doctors inject as frequently as every 4-6 weeks! Drug delivery systems designed to release drug over an extended period may aid this as well.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Macular Degeneration Wet Treatment
The only way to treat the problem used to be by using a laser, though it has been shown to work only in about half the cases. Now there are chemical and laser-related options, too. Because blood vessel growth is associated with the presence of a ‘vascular endothelial growth factor,’ drugs that impair its function are expected to help. Another solution is to use modified RNA (ribonucleic acid) or sealing blood vessel leaks using lasers. Wet macular degeneration occurs to just 15 per cent of the people with age-related macular problems but are common in two-thirds of the people with a significant loss of vision. In 70 per cent of the cases, wet age-related macular degeneration weakens vision to 20/200 or worse within two years. Antioxidants (including vitamins A, C, and E, selenium, copper, lutein, and zeaxanthine) and zinc have been shown to help preserve vision. And it would help to make full use of vision from outside the central zone, that is, the peripheral vision, to maximum effect. Anti oxidants are known to protect by preventing free oxygen – which is found in high quantities in the blood vessel -rich eye.
For more information go to www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
For more information go to www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
Sunday, January 10, 2010
How to Treat Macular Degeneration with Vitamins
A popular treatment for Macular Degeneration is the use of vitamins, also known as Vitamin Therapy. Below are the popular vitamins that can be used to help treat Macular Degeneration. These vitamins can also be used to help prevent Macular Degeneration.
Step 1
Take a high potency Multivitamin. High potency Multivitamins provide the basic vitamins needed for eye health and can help to prevent future damage with Macular Degeneration.
Step 2
Take 45 mg of Zinc twice per day. Take each dosage along with 2 mg of Copper. Zinc is a necessary vitamin in proper vision and is also a strong antioxidant. Zinc has been proven to be effective in helping to patients with Macular Degeneration.
Step 3
Take 400 IU of a Vitamin E-Complex daily. Vitamin E-Complex works as an antioxidant and has been proven to help improve the vision in patients with Macular Degeneration that is age related. Always take your Vitamin E-Complex with a meal.
For more information go to WWW.MACULARDEGENERATIONASSOCIATION.ORG
Step 1
Take a high potency Multivitamin. High potency Multivitamins provide the basic vitamins needed for eye health and can help to prevent future damage with Macular Degeneration.
Step 2
Take 45 mg of Zinc twice per day. Take each dosage along with 2 mg of Copper. Zinc is a necessary vitamin in proper vision and is also a strong antioxidant. Zinc has been proven to be effective in helping to patients with Macular Degeneration.
Step 3
Take 400 IU of a Vitamin E-Complex daily. Vitamin E-Complex works as an antioxidant and has been proven to help improve the vision in patients with Macular Degeneration that is age related. Always take your Vitamin E-Complex with a meal.
For more information go to WWW.MACULARDEGENERATIONASSOCIATION.ORG
Monday, January 4, 2010
Gene therapy to restore and improve vision
Reduced vision, or even my blindness for an individual there are a number of reasons. The treatment is on what is the case depends, and the effectiveness of treatment. Conventional, non-invasive treatment has always wear glasses or contact lenses to correct vision problems. Developed over time, improving the eye-glass lenses and contacts that reduce glare, the wavelengths of the light side to improve depth perception, and to address many environmental problems.
More recently,There have been new developments in medical care for the blind have been. For example, Avastin, a drug that was originally intended, Colo-rectal cancer treatment has been found to improve vision in patients with macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and other retinal vascular disease in context. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may reduce inflammation of the retina, and the formation of cysts. The new drugs have been developed to treat infections of cold cuts.
A majorChallenge has been on treatment options for genetic diseases and defects. These diseases result from the patient, and therefore limited treatment options. The future seems to be gene therapy. Recent clinical trials at the Scheie Eye Institute in Philadelphia made using gene therapy have dramatically improved sight-reading by the gesture declaration of letters on a table eye. These tests were sent to people who suffer from a congenital disease has been carriedLeber congenital amaurosis known. The study was later published in The New England Journal of Medicine. This implies a particular eye disease by a mutation in the gene RPE-65. This mutation prevents the gene is required for the production of a protein in the manufacture of the RPE. This protein is required for binding to the tissue of the retina and the light in sight.
The treatment included injection of normal RPE-65 gene directly into the retina. Two weeksthe contribution of all patients showed a better view. In addition, all participants were more sensitive to light. As a result the increase in visual acuity, there was a simultaneous decrease in abnormal eye movements, see further increases the ability of the eye.
While these studies have been performed on patients with a congenital disorder, there is no hope, other people with genetic diseases that help is on the move. With a little luck ', a disease of the retinathe past, because improving the methods of treatment.
For more information go to www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
More recently,There have been new developments in medical care for the blind have been. For example, Avastin, a drug that was originally intended, Colo-rectal cancer treatment has been found to improve vision in patients with macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and other retinal vascular disease in context. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may reduce inflammation of the retina, and the formation of cysts. The new drugs have been developed to treat infections of cold cuts.
A majorChallenge has been on treatment options for genetic diseases and defects. These diseases result from the patient, and therefore limited treatment options. The future seems to be gene therapy. Recent clinical trials at the Scheie Eye Institute in Philadelphia made using gene therapy have dramatically improved sight-reading by the gesture declaration of letters on a table eye. These tests were sent to people who suffer from a congenital disease has been carriedLeber congenital amaurosis known. The study was later published in The New England Journal of Medicine. This implies a particular eye disease by a mutation in the gene RPE-65. This mutation prevents the gene is required for the production of a protein in the manufacture of the RPE. This protein is required for binding to the tissue of the retina and the light in sight.
The treatment included injection of normal RPE-65 gene directly into the retina. Two weeksthe contribution of all patients showed a better view. In addition, all participants were more sensitive to light. As a result the increase in visual acuity, there was a simultaneous decrease in abnormal eye movements, see further increases the ability of the eye.
While these studies have been performed on patients with a congenital disorder, there is no hope, other people with genetic diseases that help is on the move. With a little luck ', a disease of the retinathe past, because improving the methods of treatment.
For more information go to www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
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