Retina

Speakers at the symposium "Retinal Surgery — New Dimensions in Patient Safety," described three methods/instruments to help surgeons minimize complications during surgery including improved endotamponade applications, new cannula designs and microscope data projections.

Retina navigation is a new retina therapy solution, four years in the making by OD-OS, which means a doctor can image, plan and treat using a single platform. It was demonstrated to over 100 doctors at the Euretina meeting.

The 9th Euretina Congress took place during May in Nice, France and was attended, according to the organisers, by around 1700 delegates. This was a seminal event and will be the last of its kind as next year it will join forces with ESCRS (European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons) in Paris from 2–8 September.

A diabetic retinopathy (DR) progression biomarker software has been developed with the research institute AIBILI (Association for Biomedical Research and Innovation in Light and Image) and Critical Health.

Central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) is caused by obstruction of the central retinal vein that that leads to a back up of blood and fluid in the retina, resulting in retinal injury and loss of vision.

A new collaboration between Oxford BioMedica and Sanofi-Aventis is to develop and commercialise gene therapy treatments for retinal degenerative diseases such as Stargardt disease, the form of early-onset macular degeneration and Usher syndrome, a relatively rare genetic disease where sufferers are born deaf and lose vision within the first 10 years of life.

Ophthotech Corp. has announced positive results of a phase I clinical study evaluating E10030, its novel anti-platelet derived growth factor (anti-PDGF) in conjunction with an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF), to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD).

Patients suffering from AMD have experienced long-term benefits from using the Macular Health vitamin supplement following the second phase of the Multifocal Electroretinogram (MERG) study at the Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital at the University of Alabama Birmingham (US).

Foveal thickness and macular volume decrease after phaco in eyes with diabetic macular oedema, with changes even more pronounced in patients with diabetic retinopathy.

Looking at an activity socring system to define lesions associated with wet AMD by quantifying their activity to determine the need for treatment.

Looking at a new technique to prepare and transplant endothelial grafts usinf subendothelial air injections to separate donor Descemet and endothelium from overlying stroma.

When injecting silicone oils with a viscosity of 5000 mPas, which are used frequently, retinal surgeons often reach limits of applicability.

The pioneering stem cell therapy, developed by British researchers to tackle AMD, has received the financial backing of pharma giant, Pfizer Inc., which is expected to pump in £50 million over the next three to five years.

Interim analysis of Phase II trials for fenretinide and its use in the treatment of geographic atrophy (GA) are looking positive, according to Sirion Therapeutics, Inc.

Positive interim data results from the Phase II trial of OT-551 to treat geographic atrophy (GA), an advanced form of AMD, have been announced by Othera Pharmaceuticals Inc.

1.25 million neurons view the world through receptive fields, which operate like a multi-layered jigsaw puzzle. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies imply that the nervous system operates with higher precision than previously appreciated, and that apparent irregularities in individual cells may actually be coordinated and more finely tuned.

The Schepens Eye Research Institute has found that retinal dysfunction may be caused by blocking the growth factor TGF-beta. The research may have an important impact on the prevention and treatment of diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration.

"When treating patients with DME, ophthalmologists should consider the role of the glitazone class of drugs," warn the authors of a study published in the April issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology.

The premarket application for VisionCare Ophthalmic Technologies Inc's implantable telescope for end-stage AMD has been approved, with conditions, by the FDA in the US.

Ciliary epithelial cells inside the eye, previously proposed as retinal cell stems, have now been established as being normal adult cells. The misidentification was uncovered by Michael Dyer, PhD and researchers at the St Jude Department of Developmental Neurobiology.

Researchers at the Moran Eye Centre are using transmission electron microscopes (TEMs) to develop TEM-compatible molecular probes with software that will tag cells with a molecular signature, creating 'colour' TEM imaging.

Dr José Luis Menezo looks at improving the visual acuity of patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) using an IOL-Vip system.

Biologists at the Florida State University, USA, have discovered a gene mutation in Zebrafish that determines if the cells develop as rods or as cones.

A single procedure may be as effective as repeated anti-VEGF injections claims Timothy L. Jackson.

Blindness in millions of people with diseases that starve eye tissue and nerves of oxygen might be averted with a procedure being developed by researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of Southern California and the University of Tennessee.

According to Eye Research Australia researchers at the University of Melbourne, a high intake of fresh and processed red meat is positively associated with early AMD, the leading cause of blindness among older people. Diet has often been postulated to alter the risk of AMD.

The CABERNET (CNV Secondary to AMD Treated with Beta RadiatioN Epiretinal Therapy) clinical trial is pivotal to establishing the safety and effectiveness of a beta radiation based focal epimacular brachytherapy device. Its development in bringing a paradigm shift in the way retina specialists treat wet AMD patients moved a step closer as Neovista Inc. secured more than $18 million in its Series D private venture funding round.

In infants with birth weights of 1250 g, haemangiomas are associated with the development of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), according to study data published in the March 2009 issue of Pediatrics.

The eyecare nutritional supplement market is worth $43.4 million and is projected to grow to $87.4 million within five years, according to research by Frost & Sullivan.

The Iluvien fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal insert (Alimera Sciences, Inc) is safe and effective in the management of diabetic macular oedema (DME) at twelve months, according to study results released by Alimera.