age related macular degeneration

(Wayne State University - Office of the Vice President for Research) Hitching a ride into the retina on nanoparticles called dendrimers offers a new way to treat age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa.

A collaborative research study among investigators at Wayne State University, the Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins Medicine shows that steroids attached to the dendrimers targeted the damage-causing cells associated with neuroinflammation, leaving the rest of the eye unaffected and preserving vision.

The FDA has approved Eylea for the treatment of the "wet" form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

The every-other-month injection offers an alternative to AMD drugs Lucentis and Macugen.

(Tufts University, Health Sciences) A study shows promise in slowing age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Tufts researchers demonstrate for the first time that a gene therapy approach to deliver CD59, an inhibitor of complement, can significantly reduce uncontrolled blood vessel growth and cell death that is typical in AMD, the most common cause of blindness in the elderly.

(MedPage Today) -- Marked increases have occurred in the number of retinal procedures since the late 1990s, particularly with the wide acceptance of intravitreal injections for age-related macular degeneration, researchers found.

The FDA says it has approved the use of tiny implantable telescopes to improve vision in patients with end-stage, age-related macular degeneration.

(University of California - Los Angeles) Need a little extra incentive to kick the habit?Just in time for New Year's resolutions, a UCLA study finds that even after age 80, smoking continues to increase one's risk for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in Americans over 65.

The American Journal of Ophthalmology publishes the findings in its January edition.

(University of California - Santa Barbara) An international team of scientists has rescued visual function in laboratory rats with eye disease by using cells similar to stem cells.

The research shows the potential for stem cell-based therapies to treat age-related macular degeneration in humans.

(American Academy of Ophthalmology) This month's Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology reports on a national study that finds cataract surgery is likely to benefit patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) at all stages of the disease, on a clinical trial showing that the steroid triamcinolone may be effective in advanced diabetic macular edema (DME) patients when standard treatment fails, and on the public's use of two Academy-sponsored online eye health forums.

(Cooney Waters Group, Inc.) A new study shows that implantation of blue light-filtering intraocular lens at the time of cataract surgery increases a nutritional component of the eye, which may afford protection against the development and/or progression of age-related macular degeneration.

The study, conducted by leading ophthalmology and vision researchers from the Macular Pigment Research Group at the Waterford Institute of Technology, is published in the October 2009 issue of the high impact journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.

(Washington University School of Medicine) Ever wonder how your eyes adjust during a blackout? When we go from light to near total darkness, cells in the retina must quickly adjust.

Vision scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified an intricate process that allows the human eye to adapt to darkness very quickly.

The same process also allows the eye to function in bright light. The discovery could contribute to better understanding of human diseases that affect the retina, including age-related macular degeneration.