Retina

Regeneration of damaged retinal cells with the aid of stem cells may offer hope for the treatment of retinal degeneration conditions, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy (DR), according to a report published by the National Academy of Sciences (Volume 103).

Vitreoretinal Technologies, Inc has begun to enrol and treat diabetic retinopathy patients in the clinical trial for its pharmaceutical treatment Vitreosolve.

Intravitreal medical therapy for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is dominated by the two anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drugs, ranibizumab and bevacizumab (Lucentis and Avastin, respectively, Genentech).

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) may be a useful indicator for predicting death from stroke or cardiovascular disease, according to a study published online ahead of print by the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

NeoVista Inc?s epiretinal brachytherapy for wet AMD in combination with Avastin (bevacizumab) has been shown to improve mean visual acuity (VA) in patients, with adverse events restricted to vitrectomy-related problems and not to radiation toxicity, according to results of a Phase II trial presented at the 31st Annual Macula Society Meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, US.

Lucentis (ranibizumab; Novartis) is to be made available to all patients of the National Health Service (NHS) in England and Wales, according to a report from the BBC. The final appraisal document (FAD) has been published ahead of final guidance, expected in June 2008.

A low rate of endophthalmitis can be achieved after intravitreal triamcinolone injection without the use of antibiotic prophylaxis on the pretreatment days, said Abdhish R. Bhavsar, MD, at the annual meeting of the American Society of Retina Specialists.

Injection-related complications such as infectious endophthalmitis, retinal detachment, and traumatic cataract may occur with a frequency of about 0.15% after intravitreal injections of bevacizumab or triamcinolone, independently of the drug injected, according to a study published in the February issue of Eye.

Visudyne (verteporfin) and Avastin (bevacizumab) combination therapy reduces the number of retreatments needed by half, according to Phase II study results presented at the annual Macula Society Conference in Florida, US.

Bevacizumab can produce remarkable results in infants with severe retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), according to a free paper presented at the All India Ophthalmological Society meeting held in Bangalore earlier this year.

Shortening of retinal laser exposure time is just as effective as conventional, longer laser exposure in patients undergoing laser photocoagulation, but is significantly less painful, according to a study published in the January issue of Eye.

Patients who are currently hospitalized overnight for vitreoretinal surgery could safely be treated as day cases, thus providing significant improvements in efficiency, according to a report published in the February issue of Eye.

The cumulative experience of more than 20 years of treating retinal diseases with a variety of lasers has taught clinicians and researchers one very important lesson: less is more.

A protein, called Robo4, has been identified which appears to play an important role in the development of stable, working blood vessels.

The incidence of endophthalmitis following injections of anti-VEGF drugs is lower when the injections are given in an office setting than the rates reported from clinical trials, which require a more extensive pre-injection regimen.

According to a presentation at the All India Ophthalmological Society meeting, when used appropriately, bevacizumab can produce remarkable results in children with severe retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

The size and binding characteristics of proteins are likely to influence their ability to penetrate the eye from the periocular space, but in general, proteins as large as 50-75 kDa penetrate well into the choroid but not into the retina.

Reichert has received 510k clearance from the FDA to market the Reichert-Optopol Spectral Optical Coherence Tomographer (SOCT) in the US.

Sirion Therapeutics has entered into an exclusive agreement with Bridge Pharma for the worldwide rights to develop and market topical ophthalmic formulations containing Bridge's proprietary anti-inflammatory agent norketotifen.

It is recommended that all babies with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) be screened at 12 months to identify amblyogenic factors such as squint and refractive error.

Age, independent of the duration of uveitis, is a major risk factor for the presence of cystoid macular oedema (CME) in uveitis.

Preliminary results of a study using the NSAID Xibrom (bromfenac ophthalmic solution 0.09%; ISTA Pharmaceuticals) therapy in combination with Lucentis (ranibizumab; Novartis) in patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), suggests that it may result in fewer injections being required.

Twenty-three gauge transconjunctival sutureless vitrectomy is an effective surgical technique for the management of vitreoretinal diseases.

A blind person's sight has been restored by surgeons at the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG) for the first time in Europe using American technology.

MacuSight has announced positive preliminary data from the Phase I study of its lead product candidate for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), sirolimus.

Systematic screening for diabetic retinopathy (DR) has been identified as a cost-effective use of health service resources,1-4 with national screening programmes based on digital photography being implemented across Europe. In Scotland, images are captured at local screening centres and sent electronically to one of nine regional grading centres, where they are manually graded using a three-level system (Figure 1).

New developments in diagnostic technology should enable better screening and follow-up of refractive surgery patients, said Dan Z. Reinstein, MD, delivering a keynote address during the refractive surgery subspecialty day preceding the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in November 2007.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR), particularly in the more advanced stages, is associated with an increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence.

The side effects and complications associated with intravitreal bevacizumab (Avastin) are minimal and can be prevented, in most cases, by careful injection and good patient selection.

The da Vinci Surgical System (Intuitive Surgical) provides adequate dexterity for performing delicate intraocular manipulation, however, the kinematics of the robotic arms is insufficient for standard intraocular surgery.