What Should I Ask My Doctor?

by Dan Roberts Updated September 2018 One of the most common problems encountered by people who are first diagnosed with macular degeneration is what to ask the doctor. The news usually takes us by surprise, and we may have never even heard of the disease before. To compound our confusion, many doctors do not have [Read More]

Preferential Hyperacuity Perimetry (PHP)

A Method of Early Detection of AMD Progression by Dan Roberts Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc. has developed a device that is proving to be an effective tool for early detection of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Called the PreView PHP™ (Preferential Hyperacuity Perimetry), it identifies deviations in the retina using a vision test based upon the [Read More]

Understanding Drug Side Effects and Adverse Events

Presented to the International Low Vision Support Group by Dan Roberts July 2013 [Opening: montage of screen shots and audio of disclaimers from drug commercials] Pretty scary, isn’t it? Kind of like telling us we’re going to feel better or die trying. These commercials, which show peaceful scenes of happy people while a disembodied voice [Read More]

Betadine and Eye Pain

Betadine (povidone-iodine 5%) has become the standard of care for cleansing the eye during anti-VEGF injection procedures. Though the incidence of sensitivity to povidone-iodine (PVPI) is infrequent, some patients are reporting severe and prolonged burning of the conjunctiva.1, 2, 3 Even though the complaints are relatively few, a solution needs to be found to this [Read More]

Cholesterol and AMD

by Dan Roberts Originally published and updated, April 6, 2013 This is a continuously updated review of research since 2002 on cholesterol and age-related macular degeneration. It presents studies of statin treatment and it introduces recent findings regarding reduction of cholesterol by restoring macrophages. Statins Statins are a type of cholesterol-reducing drug that lower the [Read More]