Retina

)? Oraya Therapeutics, Inc., announced today that enrollment is now underway for the first ever masked and sham-controlled study to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of radiation therapy for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The groundbreaking clinical trial is being conducted at seven European sites, and will include a minimum of 150 patients, with approximately one third of those receiving a sham exposure and the remainder receiving radiation dosing of either 16 or 24 Gray (GY).

Heidelberg Engineering has launched an informative microsite about BluePeak blue laser autofluorescence.

Combination bevacizumab and 25?J/cm2 or 12?J/cm2 PDT significantly reduced the number of bevacizumab treatments required over six months. This study aimed at examining number of treatments, but not visual acuities. However, visual acuities responded favourably in all three groups.

The Ophthalmology Times Group talked to an optometrist practice about their experience with ocular nutraceuticals

Diabetic retinopathy is a rising threat as the diabetic population increases

Retinal tissue response after PASCAL laser photocoagulation

Professor David Wong reports on the third Heavy Tamponade meeting in Amsterdam and explains the background from the first and second events

Diabetic macular oedema responds to treatment with ranibizumab according to the results of the RESOLVE study.

The NAVILAS laser system, as reported on in the OTE Digest back in May this year ( What is Retinal Navigation? ) has been given FDA approval.

A new hypothesis about the development of AMD points to a role of age-depleted steroidal hormones. An ophthalmologist discusses the evidence supporting this idea.

For now, the most effective way to prevent or manage diabetic retinopathy is taking a proactive approach to controlling blood glucose levels and hypertension in patients.

Two Phase III studies of Lucentis (ranibizumab injection) in macular oedema due to retinal vein occlusion (RVO), have shown, on average, patients given either of two doses of Lucentis had a clinically and statistically significant improvement in vision as measured by the primary endpoint of mean change from baseline in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at six months compared to patients receiving sham injections. Results from both trials were presented at the Retina Congress 2009 meeting.

Investigators from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and the VA Boston Healthcare System have shown, at 6 months in a small group of patients, that there is no difference in efficacy between Bevacizumab (Avastin) and Ranibizumab (Lucentis) for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Anti-VEGF monotherapy appears to be an effective treatment for retinal angiomatous proliferation, according to results of a small, retrospective chart review. Although the results indicate that in most cases repeated injections would be needed to achieve improvement of stable vision, treatment based on ocular coherence tomography-confirmed presence of fluid could achieve outcomes similar to monthly injections.

Dr Anand Vinekar descibes how tele-ophthalmology models for ROP can be used in developing countries, using a successful Indian programme as a case study.

A review of the role and efficacy of anti-VEGF therapy in macular disease

Cataract surgery in patients with pre-existing AMD: Risks and Benefits

Canon Europe, revealed its new CX-1, a world first in retinal imaging technology for the first time at this year's ESCRS Congress.

A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, has found that the brain predicts the consequences of eye movement even before the eyes take in a new scene.

High levels of the enzyme arginase contributes to vascular eye damage, and therapies to lower its levels could halt progression of diabetic retinopathy (DR), according to researchers at the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) School of Medicine, USA.

In a head-to-head comparison of six OCT devices, the Spectralis spectral domain OCT (Heidelberg Engineering) showed the lowest co-efficient of variation in a test-retest study.

Evaluation of a new value-based treatment approach for wet AMD.

In the second of a two-part article Drs Lombardi and Belilli present the results of a patient suffering with a wet maculopathy affecting both eyes.

Partial sections of vision were recently restored to a blind woman's retina through the use of gene therapy.

This month's Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, reports on use of bevacizumab (Avastin), to benefit diabetic patients with macular oedema as well as people who develop cystoid macular oedema after cataract surgery.