A report published in Review of Optometry on November 5, 2018 announced research* showing that non-anemic patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD) who take oral iron supplements may be at risk of retinal/subretinal hemorrhage. Researchers have found that use of oral iron supplements was significantly associated with retinal/subretinal hemorrhage at baseline in patients with […]
Genentech has announced positive results from the Phase II STAIRWAY study which explored the extended durability of faricimab (RG7716) in the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). At 52 weeks, faricimab patients dosed either every 16 weeks or every 12 weeks demonstrated sustained vision outcomes comparable to Lucentis (ranibizumab) dosed every four weeks. “Because […]
Researchers at the University of Queensland have found an association between Charles Bonnet Syndrome (CBS) and abnormally heightened activity in the visual cortex of the brain. The findings were published October 25, 2018 in the journal Current Biology. According to the researchers, up to 40% of people with loss of vision experience hallucinations, which are […]
A report from the National Poll on Healthy Aging reveals that more than half of older patients surveyed said their primary care providers have not asked them about their vision. Considering the number of ailments that can affect the aging population, vision is unfortunately often overlooked. This is concerning, since the incidence of age-related macular […]
California companies lacked scientific evidence that their “amniotic stem cell therapy” could treat or cure macular degeneration and other serious diseases. A California-based physician and the two companies he controls have settled charges of deceptively advertising that “amniotic stem cell therapy” can treat serious diseases, including Parkinson’s disease, autism, macular degeneration, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, […]
A second trial begun in 2018 is showing positive results with replacing defective cells leading to vision loss from dry (geographic) macular degeneration. Implanted cells derived from stem cells have been implanted into five patients by researchers from University of Southern California (USC) and the University of California, Santa Barbara. Results at one year have […]
A recent study by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, has looked into the association between age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and gout. Gout is a form of arthritis resulting from inflammation in the joints caused by the build-up of uric acid crystals and is associated with oxidative stress. The main […]
Adverum Biotechnologies, Inc. has announced progress with yet another therapy designed to extend the time between anti-VEGF injections for treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD). The company’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application has been approved for a multi-center study of ADVM-022, a novel gene therapy candidate for the treatment of wAMD. “We are excited […]
Four eye health stakeholder groups have come together to help define the focus of research in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Their purpose was to prioritize clinical questions important for researchers to answer when developing clinical practice guidelines and identifying treatment outcomes important to patients. Participants in the initiative were: American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Retina/Vitreous […]
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has announced that the FDA has approved extending the dosage regimen of EYLEA, its proprietary drug for treatment of wet macular degeneration (AMD).The decision was based on second-year data from the Phase 3 VIEW 1 and 2 trials in which patients were treated with doses given at least every 12 weeks plus additional […]