Diabetic Macular Edema

Medical technology is constantly evolving across fields, and ophthalmology is no exception. A new hypersonic vitrectomy device is currently in development and could be on the market in 2017.

Researchers are getting closer to understanding the pathogenesis of one type of age-related macular degeneration.

Research using mouse models demonstrated that a high-fat diet increased intestinal permeability, which led to increases in circulating and local inflammatory cytokines, and increased choroidal neovascularization.

Treatment with recombinant adeno-associated virus vector gene-therapy was shown to be safe and potentially effective in a small test group of patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration.

Scientists have ruled out the gene DMBT1 in the pursuit of understanding the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Research has shown that trouble with vision can negatively impact patients’ quality of life. Now, a study compared quality of life outcomes in people with AMD and glaucoma.

For conditions like diabetic retinopathy, the earlier the condition diagnosis can be made, the better the odds are of reducing the damage done.

Telemedicine is an expanding field across many areas of the medical community. Finding the best ways to use it and expand its growth are also becoming focal points as the idea gains popularity in helping treat patients.

As part of their overall health management, patients with diabetes are encouraged to undergo annual eye exams. While not all patients follow this direction, research is being done to better improve their eye health by working with their general practitioners.

In many, if not most cases, there can be a break in the chain between researchers and the doctors they are developing treatments for. When that divide does not exist it can mean more direct access for doctors and patients to the latest treatments even in the development stages.

Much in the way GPS systems help drivers navigate the roads easier, image guided surgery can help doctors provide better care to their patients in many cases.

The treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration has come a long way in a short period of time. While it may take some explaining that injections in the eye are the best way to treat the condition now there is work being done to find better ways for the future.

If patients with the wet form of wet age-related macular degeneration are caught early enough there are treatments available to help treat the condition.

Space flight has changed dramatically from the days of the Mercury and Apollo programs. With an eye towards Mars research is being done to see what impact long-term flights will have on a person's body.

The mortality rate of AMD patients who received a bevacizumab injection 3 or 6 months after stroke was, in the study’s words, “worrying” compared to the rate of those who did not.

Explaining diabetic macular edema to patients can be a challenge in itself. Going further to explain the injection process can take even more care for eye care professionals.

The treatment of diabetic retinopathy, particularly diabetic macular edema has come a long way over the past decade, especially since the approval of aflibrecept to treat these patients.

Italian researchers found that supplementing ranibizumab treatment with the daily administration of an NSAID solution improved AMD symptoms better than ranibizumab alone, and believe over time greater statistical significance will emerge.

Does adherence to the Mediterranean diet reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration? Portuguese researchers attempted to determine the AMD-preventative nature of the popular regional diet, which is commonly associated with fish, fruit, grains, and the occasional splash of wine.

Simple at-home vision tests can red flag early signs of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). But which one is the best?

Although differences between treatment groups in best-corrected visual acuity were not statistically significant, combination treatment reduced central macular thickness and macular volume statistically significantly more than bevacizumab alone.

The FDA has approved Genentech's prefilled ranibizumab syringe for injecting the eyes of people with wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD)

A large observational study of results in routine clinical practice showed that visual acuity outcomes 12 months after Aflibercept or Ranibizumab treatment did not differ, and neither did the number of injections required for each agent.

The only factor that predicted visual outcomes one year after nAMD diagnosis was baseline visual acuity, which maintained its predictive ability five years after diagnosis. Visual acuity increased more frequently in women.

In an 84-year-old woman with AMD and acute deterioration in vision, the oral antioxidant supplement Resvega led to regression of subretinal fluid and eliminated the need for intravitreal injection of an anti-VEGF agent over the course of 9 months.

An optical coherence tomography study found that, after three monthly treatments,aAflibercept was 7 times more effective than ranibizumab in resolving serous pigment epithelium detachment, though neither treatment improved visual acuity in these patients to a statistically significant degree.

Vitrectomy plus subretinal injection of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) reduced scar area moreso than pneumatic displacement plus intravitreal injection of tPA. Visual acuity improved noticeably after both of these treatments, but not after treatment with pneumatic displacement alone.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) was 72% more likely to develop in end-stage renal disease patients than in control subjects and 74% more likely to develop in peritoneal dialysis patients than in hemodialysis patients.

After 12 months of follow-up, a Japanese team found a trend toward greater BCVA improvement in the Eylea group than in the Lucentis group but no statistically significant differences between groups in BCVA or central foveal thickness.

No difference in the superficial capillary plexuses was found in cases of diabetic macular edema that responded well to anti-vascular endothelial growth factor as opposed to those that didn't, but poor responders had more damage and microaneurysms in the deep capillary plexus.