Is Blindness The "Worst Ailment"?

by Dan Roberts A recent online nationwide poll (1) has joined similar past studies in revealing that people consider vision loss to be the “worst ailment that could happen to them relative to losing memory, speech, hearing, or a limb.” The researchers’ intent was to “underscore the importance of focusing on preservation of eye health and the [Read More]

Finally, A Promising Breakthrough For Dry AMD

Genentech, Inc., a leading pharmaceutical developer, is currently conducting two phase III trials studying the drug lampalizumab as a potential treatment for advanced dry macular degeneration, also known as geographic atrophy (GA). Patients who have been diagnosed with GA are encouraged to participate in the trials, which are being conducted at hundreds of locations in [Read More]

Anti-depressant Drugs May Someday Help Prevent Macular Degeneration

Tests in a mouse model of macular degeneration have shown that anti-depressant drugs already on the market prevent damage to the light cells in the retina. In a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a University of Wisconsin—Madison research team pinpoints how immune abnormalities beneath the retina result in macular degeneration. [Read More]

For Some, Switching ANTI-VEGF Treatments Midstream Could Be Harmful

Switching from Lucentis to Eylea could result in worsening of the retinal condition of some people with wet (exudative) AMD. Since the advent of anti-VEGF drug treatments for wet AMD, research has verified that blood vessel growth and leakage (neovascularization) usually diminishes in patients who are switched from either Lucentis or Avastin to Eylea. A small [Read More]