Hope for blindness cure with laser breakthrough

The Guardian ^ | 5 July 2009 | Denis Campbell

[Ben Mugged]

Millions of people could have their eyesight saved thanks to ground-breaking laser treatment that has the potential to eradicate the most common cause of blindness.

One of Britain's leading eye experts has developed a technique to reverse the disabling effects of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which leaves many older people unable to read, drive or live independently, and eventually robs them of sight in one or both eyes.

Professor John Marshall has developed a way of "cleaning" eyes which, due to the ageing process, have accumulated tiny particles of debris which start to cloud their sight. His pioneering technique uses a painless "short pulse" laser to solve the otherwise intractable problem of how to help the eye's waste disposal system do its job after it has been weakened by age.

[Ben Mugged]

A raft in a sea of hopelessness.

[Ben Mugged]

The technique works by rejuvenating a thin membrane behind the retina, called Bruch's membrane. Over time this membrane becomes so "clogged" with the by-product of cell renewal that vital nutrients can no longer cross from the bloodstream into the retina and excess material becomes trapped, unable to pass in the other direction. This leads to the death of retinal cells and, in time, to AMD and eventual blindness.

Marshall's technique promises to prevent and even reverse the process, allowing the eye to return to something like its youthful, uncluttered state. In a clinical trial involving more than 100 diabetics, Marshall found that focusing a laser beam on one part of the retina helps stimulate the release of enzymes, which then set about cleaning up the waste material. Participants reported this led to a marked improvement in their sight.

[Ulysse]

ping

[tanuki]

And we’re coming up on the fiftieth anniversary of the laser (2010), too.

[dragnet2]

Great news...The bad news is if you want this procedure, you’ll have to sell your home and all your belongings to pay for it, or else be a government employee or elected government official with top shelf medical benefits.

[dfwgator]

And we’re coming up on the fiftieth anniversary of the laser (2010), too.

"Back in the 60's, I developed a weather changing machine which was in essence a sophisticated heat beam which we called a 'laser.' Using these 'lasers' we'd punch a hole in the protective layer around the world which we called the 'ozone' layer. Slowly but surely ultraviolet rays would pour in, increasing the risk for skin cancer, that is...unless the world pays us a hefty ransom?"

[OrangeHoof]

I hope this can become replicated and used to restore the eyesight of many who suffer from this. As diabetes becomes more prominent, many more over the years will suffer vision loss and blindness. If this can reverse this process and be available under major insurance plans, it could be a godsend.

Of course, if you’re under Nationalized health care, you may be considered too “high risk” for treatment and told you deserve to be blind for all the sodas you drank and the cheeseburgers you ate, etc.

[KeyLargo]

Oh and by the way UK denies macular degeneration treatments.

“In 2007, the board restricted access to two drugs for macular degeneration, a cause of blindness. The drug Macugen was blocked outright. The other, Lucentis, was limited to a particular category of individuals with the disease, restricting it to about one in five sufferers. Even then, the drug was only approved for use in one eye, meaning those lucky enough to get it would still go blind in the other. As Andrew Dillon, the chief executive of NICE, explained at the time: “When treatments are very expensive, we have to use them where they give the most benefit to patients.”

Wall Street Journal Editorial

* The Wall Street Journal

* REVIEW & OUTLOOK
* JULY 7, 2009

Of NICE and Men

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124692973435303415.html

[Sig Sauer P220]

Denied by virtue of Obamacare. NEXT!

[tanuki]

OH NOES!!! THIS IS SERIES!!!!

[Clintons Are White Trash]

I just showed this article to my boss (a leading Ophthalmologist) and he said he believes this has been debunked. Basically this was done on people who had macular drusen (not just macular degeneration) and they were essentially lasering the drusen off. It looked better as far as the macula went, but did not show any improvement in the patient’s vision. He said it would be wonderful if it worked but he doesn’t believe it does.

[Ben Mugged]

Thank you for the insight.

[the long march]

The laser exists and it is simply a matter of having the procedure documented and tested enough so that side effects aren;t lurking somewhere.

This is not new and has been in the laser and bio-med lit for a couple of years now.

[Gorzaloon]

I just showed this article to my boss (a leading Ophthalmologist) and he said he believes this has been debunked

Not surprising. Every week the British press has stories of amazing developments that are never, never heard of again.

The stories must be designed to make the subjects have a little hope in the NHS.

I think it's mean.

[Ulysse]

PING