Iluvien Similar to Anti-VEGF Drugs as Treatment for Diabetic Retinopathy

(Updated 12/5/2017) On February 16, Charles C. Wykoff, MD, PhD, announced to the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting that Iluviuan (fluocinolone acetonide) treatment, after 1.3 injections over 3 years in the FAME trials, “significantly reduced progression to prolific diabetic retinopathy from 31% to 17%, a similar reduction as observed with monthly anti-VEGF treatments.” Iluvian [Read More]

Lucentis effective for proliferative diabetic retinopathy

NIH-funded clinical trial marks first major advance in therapy in 40 years A clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health has found that the drug ranibizumab (Lucentis) is highly effective in treating proliferative diabetic retinopathy. The trial, conducted by the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network (DRCR.net) compared Lucentis with a type of laser [Read More]

Medicare Covers Annual Eye Exams for Diabetics

November is American Diabetes Month. To prevent diabetes-related vision loss, the American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends people with diabetes get a dilated eye exam each year.   One in four Americans age 65 or older has diabetes, putting them at increased risk for vision loss and blindness. Fortunately, diabetes-related vision loss is largely preventable with [Read More]

Diet, exercise, smoking habits, and genes interact to affect AMD risk

NIH-funded study points to converging factors that drive disease-related inflammation People with a genetic predisposition for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) significantly increased their odds of developing the blinding eye disorder if they had a history of heavy smoking and consistently did not exercise or eat enough fruits and vegetables, according to an observational study of [Read More]