Cataract surgery in people with age-related macular degeneration

Cochrane: The aim of this Cochrane Review was to determine whether cataract surgery is safe and improves vision in eyes with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) compared with no surgery. Cochrane researchers collected and analyzed all relevant studies to answer this question and included two studies. Although data from two small studies suggest that surgery to remove cataracts in eyes with AMD may improve vision without worsening of AMD, it is not possible to draw reliable conclusions from the available data at this time. Physicians must decide whether to recommend cataract surgery to their AMD patients based on clinical judgment until larger studies have been conducted and their findings published.

will I damage my eyes if I don’t wear sunglasses?

TheConversation: The iconic “Slip Slop Slap” campaign was launched in Australia in 1981. Sid the Seagull encouraged people to slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap on a hat to minimise ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure and reduce the risk of sunburn and skin cancer. In 2007, the slogan was updated to “Slip Slop Slap Seek Slide”. So now it includes seeking shade and sliding on sunglasses to further reduce the risk of UV-related damage. This emphasises the importance of protecting eyes – and the skin around them – from UV radiation.

Nanobubbles: groundbreaking technology to deliver lower doses of drugs to tissues

Queensland: Bubbles invisible to the naked eye could provide the next breakthrough in treating heart and eye problems – and present an alternate treatment for cancer and cellulite as well. University of Queensland pharmacy researcher Dr Harendra Parekh is confident his team’s nanobubble technology can be applied across a number of diseases, limiting highly toxic or expensive medicines.

FDA approves Lucentis to treat diabetic retinopathy in patients with diabetic macular edema

FDA. US: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today expanded the approved use for Lucentis (ranibizumab injection) 0.3 mg to treat diabetic retinopathy (DR) in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME).

Can statins delay the onset and progression of age-related macular degeneration?

Cochrane: What are the effects of statins on delaying the onset and progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD)?

Complex incentives drive macular degeneration prescription decisions, study finds

Stanford University. US: Two drugs that treat macular degeneration are practically interchangeable — except for the price.

Major cause of blindness linked to calcium deposits in the eye

University College London. UK: Microscopic spheres of calcium phosphate have been linked to the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a major cause of blindness, by UCL-led research.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) Overview

Source: Plos Medicine. 2013.

The third leading global cause of blindness (after cataracts and glaucoma) is age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

This group of conditions is characterized by lesions in the macular (central) region of the retina, the tissue at the back of the eye that converts light into electrical messages and sends them to the brain.

AMD, which affects older people, destroys the sharp central vision that is needed for reading or driving, leaving only dim, blurred images or a black hole at the center of vision.

AMD can be diagnosed by examining digital photographs of the retina or by examining the retina directly using a special magnifying lens (slit lamp biomicroscopy).

There is no cure for AMD, although injections into the eye of certain drugs, such as bevacizumab, that block the activity of vascular endothelial growth factor can slow the rate of vision loss caused by some forms of AMD.