Archive for the ‘Drugs & Treatments’ Category
Eye test in development that may provide early diagnosis of glaucoma and Alzheimer’s
01.22.2010The eyes may be more than the windows to the soul. They may allow doctors to diagnose neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s years before the onset of symptoms.
An eye test in early development may transform doctors’ ability to detect and treat diseases such as glaucoma and Alzheimer’s.
The technology behind the eye test is based upon the knowledge that nerve cell death is the key element in all degenerative brain disorders. Until now, there has been no way to measure brain cell death.
The new test uses a special camera and fluorescent markers that attach to retinal cells in various stages of death. This provides a real-time measurement of brain cell death by taking advantage of the fact that the eye is basically an exposed part of the brain. When brain cells are dying then retinal cells die as well. A large number of dead retinal cells would point to a neurological disorder.
While it is still to early to determine if the simple eye test will be an effective diagnostic tool in humans, researchers remain hopeful that the test will be available within the next few years.
Andrea Schumann
Staff Writer
Risk of endophthalmitis associated with injections for wet AMD
01.18.2010Patients are frequently concerned about the benefits and risks of medical procedures. And the standard of care for the treatment of wet macular degeneration is injections of a drug into the vitreous cavity of the eye, where it hopefully causes atrophy and elimination of abnormal blood vessels that leak blood and fluid into the retina.
One of the questions is what are the risks of infection with such treatments?
A study published in the February 2009 issue of the scientific journal, Eye, links injections of Lucentis or Avastin that are used to treat wet age-related macular degeneration with endophthalmitis.
Researchers determined there is a 1 in 1000 incidence of endophthalmitis which is an infection of the inner eye tissues in patients who receive the injections as treatment for wet AMD.
Three eyes of three patients who were identified as being diagnosed with endophthalmitis following their injections were studied. All three patients improved by the end of their follow-up period.
Researchers determined that endophthalmitis is still a potential complication of Lucentis or Avastin injections despite taking all precautions to ensure maximum sterilization techniques. The infection occurs rapidly and it is imperative that the signs of infection be recognized and treated early to prevent any vision loss.
Andrea Schumann
Staff Writer
Bifocals prove to be beneficial to children with myopia (near-sightedness)
01.13.2010Children who have rapidly progressing myopia (nearsightedness) may benefit from wearing bifocals rather than single-vision eyeglasses.
A study published in the January Archives of Ophthalmology finds that bifocals can slow the rapid progression of myopia in children.
The diagnosis of myopia has risen 66% in the United States over the past 30 years with 33% of the adult population being nearsighted. People in East Asia have a much higher incidence of myopia with the rate being 60% by age 12. Because of this, researchers chose to study Canadian Chinese children with rapidly progressing myopia.
Researchers believe that one reason that bifocals are more effective in slowing the progression of myopia than normal lenses is because positive lenses can disrupt the equilibrium of the eye muscles for those who already have some degree of exophoria.
Researchers cautiously recommend offering bifocals to children with rapidly progressing myopia. They urge eye care practitioners to weigh the extra cost and poor cosmetic appearance of bifocals when considering this option.
Andrea Schumann
Staff Writer
Laser treatments preferred over steroid injections for treament of diabetic retinal disease
01.10.2010Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness among those dealing with diabetes. Diabetic macular edema can lead to progressive diabetic retinopathy. Laser photocoagulation is still the preferred method of treatment despite successful use of corticosteroid injections.
Researchers were led by specialists at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute in testing the use of a corticosteroid injection of triamcinolone into the eye. The treatment was successful in slowing the progression of diabetic retinopathy but safety concerns warranted a cautionary statement from the researchers.
Researchers caution that the use of such steroids in the eye may increase the risk of glaucoma and cataracts which outweighs any benefits the injections deliver to the patient.
The study is published in the December 2009 issue of Archives of Ophthalmology. Researchers compared one of two treatments on eyes from 693 men and women suffering from diabetic retinopathy. The patients were randomly assigned to receive either the laser treatment or the steroid injection for diabetic macular edema.
The results showed that while the steroid shot did reduce the risk of progression of diabetic retinopathy, it did not slow the progression of diabetic macular edema. It was also shown the corticosteroids interfere with the creation of new blood vessels and they are also associated with other eye diseases. The consensus was that the laser treatments were a superior method of treating diabetic macular edema.
Andrea Schumann
Staff Writer
Taking Aspirin Does Not Decrease Risk of Vision Loss in Elderly
12.09.2009Aspirin is a cheap over-the-counter-medication that is often hailed for its benefits in reducing the risk of heart attack in patients. However, aspirin does not decrease the risk of vision loss in elderly patients.
A study published in the December 2009 issue of Ophthalmology concluded that aspirin had no notable effect on the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
This study took place over several years and was designed to examine whether taking low-dose aspirin on alternate days affects the development of AMD. The study did utilize data from a larger study on aspirin. The study involved 39,876 healthy, female health professionals aged 45 years or older and followed them for an average of 10 years.
While the study findings are only applicable to women, it is noted that AMD is more common in women than in men. Also, there are risks associated with taking daily or alternate-day aspirin and those risks should be weighed against the benefits.
Andrea Schumann
Staff Writer
