People living with the wet version of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) might soon more easily be able to treat, if not cure, their ailment, reported The Telegraph on November 20.
According to the article, people with wet AMD, the primary cause of blindness in the United Kingdom, presently must manage their eye ailment courtesy of an rigorous procedure that includes trips to the hospital and medication injections into their eyes. However, doctors said in the article, because of the need for monthly appointments and about half a dozen injections annually, many patients don’t follow the full treatment process.
But the situation could soon change. According to the article, a United States entity is on the verge of introducing into the UK market a new one-time radiation treatment that could lessen the need for lots of eyeball injections. In fact, some patients might be able to go an entire year without treatment. According to the article, a study conducted at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, King’s College London and 19 other international centers revealed that patients who received the new radiation treatment required about one-third fewer injections over the year.
The article cited Dr. Tim Jackson, who was responsible for the UK portion of the trial, as saying that there were a number of specific patient groups that required 50% less injections and that had substantially improved vision. While acknowledging that the results are positive, Jackson added in the article that the goal is to pursue “long-term follow-up” in a bid to make certain that the treatment is safe and effective.
According to the article about a quarter of a million people in Britain have AMD, and there are 40,000 people diagnosed with the condition annually. At present, the condition is treated courtesy of injections into the rear portion of the eye. But the new treatment utilizes low-dose x-rays to target and destroy abnormal tissue. The new treatment, which would take 20 minutes or less, has already been licensed to be administered in the UK.
The article cited a Macular Disease Society spokesperson as saying that the clinical results suggest that the new therapy is “an interesting development in wet” AMD treatment.