Sight-saving drug approved on NHS

"A sight-saving drug that could prevent thousands of people from going blind has been approved for use on the NHS across England and Wales.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) today (August 27) issued its final guidance on Lucentis, recommending the anti-VEGF drug for the treatment of wet-AMD.

The approval follows a collaboration between NICE, the Department of Health and, the drug’s manufacturer, Novartis. The agreement involves the implementation of a Ranibizumab Reimbursement Scheme (RSS) which will provide patients with universal access to the drug.

Under the scheme the first 14 injections will be funded by the NHS, with the cost of any additional treatment being met by the Swiss-based drug manufacturer.

Having already launched an interim version of the scheme in a bid to provide immediate access for patients to the drug on the NHS, the issuing of the final guidance means it can be rolled out nationwide."

Opticians in America have reported a surge in demand for the rimless rectangular specs worn Sarah Palin during her convention speech

US elections: Opticians in America have reported a surge in demand for the rimless rectangular specs worn Sarah Palin during her convention speech | World news | The Observer: "Critics remain sceptical about whether she possesses the vision thing. But plenty of fashion-conscious voters who look into Sarah Palin's eyes like what they see - her glasses.

Opticians in America have reported a surge in demand for the rimless rectangular specs worn by John McCain's running mate during her convention speech. Retailers are racing to stock the $375 designer frames as 'hockey mom' Palin's fashion sense gains attention.

Joy Leedham, owner of Home Optics in Chugiak, Alaska, said she had been inundated with orders after it emerged she had fitted the governor's glasses. 'I got a call at 5.30am asking if I could make glasses exactly the same as Sarah Palin's,' she told The Observer. 'I'm getting emails saying, 'Sarah Palin glasses please'.' Some requests have been going directly to Palin's office, which has forwarded them to Leedham. It was last December when the two sat down in Palin's kitchen and went through nearly 300 possible frames, narrowing them down to five contenders before the family chose the one they liked best.

The frame is from Japanese designer Kazuo Kawasaki's 704 series, in the colour 34 grey, made from titanium and mounted via a screwless tension system. The price starts at $375 for the frame and can go up to $700, depending on the lens."

Protein could reverse eye diseases

"Two of the leading causes of blindness could be reversed and even prevented by drugs that activate a protein found in blood vessel cells, researchers at the University of Utah have discovered.

The study found that the damage which occurs to the eye from age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy could be halted and turned back during experiments carried out on mice.

Published in Nature Medicine (March 16), the protein, Robo4, treated both diseases by inhibiting abnormal blood vessel growth and stabilising blood vessels to prevent leakage – two primary factors in both eye diseases.

Kang Zhang, associate professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Utah, said: “This discovery has significant implications for developing drugs that activate Robo4 to treat AMD and diabetic retinopathy.”

The findings are the result of Professor Zhang’s and Dean Li’s, professor of internal medicine and an investigator at the University’s programme in Human Molecular Biology and Genetics, laboratories working together in a collaboration that could shorten the time required to test the approach on humans by years. The study could also aid new ways of treating other diseases such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARA)."

Uni duo's software helps colour-blind

"Computer software that helps colour-blind people recognise colours they find hard to detect could be available by the end of the month.

Invented by Computer Science student Luke Jefferson, the software integrates models of colour vision deficiency, allowing the user to adjust colours for their own particular type of colour-blindness.

Named Huetility, it enables the user to place a transparent “window” over any part of their screen and improves the colours beneath it.

Mr Jefferson and his business partner Luke Walsh hope that opticians will promote the software to patients when they are first diagnosed with colour-blindness.

Mr Walsh, a 25-year-old Electronics student at the University of York, said: “Initially our software will be available online and through opticians. Currently opticians have nothing to offer someone who has been diagnosed as colour-blind and when we spoke to a number of high-street opticians about our software we received a really positive response.”

The duo, who met whilst on an entrepreneurship scholarship in America, set up a company called Scratchface last summer to develop and sell the product through and are now finalists in the first HSBC Unipreneurs Awards later this month.

The pair’s idea is one of five that have been selected from over 400 applications and will be vying to win the £20,000 prize when the awards ceremony takes place in London on April 23.

Expected to retail at around £25, to find out more about the software visit www.huetility.com when it goes ‘live’ on April 23."

Doctors develop 'blackberry-sized' sight testing kit

"Two medical scientists at NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde’s Gartnavel General Hospital have developed what they claim is the UK’s most advanced eye screening system.

Doctors Stuart Parks and David Keating unveiled their pioneering development, the equivalent of a cardiogram for the eye, at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) general meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, last weekend, where they said their system can potentially save peoples’ eyesight because of its early detection technology.

The software developed by the two medical physicists provides diagnosis and monitoring of retinal problems at an early stage, including tunnel vision problems, vein occlusions or blockages.

It is achieved by plugging a machine little bigger than a blackberry into a PC, and in future they hope a simplified version may be available at High Street opticians, with representatives from Scottish Health Innovations Ltd (SHIL) marketing its commercial potential.
Dr Parks and Dr Keating, based at the Tennent Institute of Ophthalmology within the hospital, have spent 14 years refining their system, known as multifocal electrophysiology.

Key is the computer software which interprets many electronic signals sent from different areas of the retina."

First Aid For Your Eyes

"When eye injuries occur, knowing how to deal with them can mean the difference between minor eye damage and permanent injury, or even blindness. Here are some first aid suggestions for eye injuries. But, please remember, these suggestions are only first aid. It is important for you to contact your optometrist or doctor as soon as possible for any eye injuries.

If you have a foreign object in your eye, don't rub it. Lift your upper eyelid outward and gently pull in down over the lower lash. This causes tears to flow and often wash the object out of your eye. You may have to repeat this several times. If the object does not wash out, contact your optometrist or doctor. Do not try to remove a particle that is embedded. You can cause more damage. If you are wearing contact lenses, remove the lens and clean it thoroughly before putting it back in your eye. If discomfort persists, remove, clean again and reapply. If discomfort continues, remove the lens and call your optometrist.

For chemicals splashed in your eyes, immediately flush your eyes with cool water for at least 15 minutes. If possible, hold your head under a slowly running faucet, or pour water slowly from a glass or clear container. Seek professional attention immediately. If you are wearing contact lenses, remove them immediately. Then flush your eyes and seek professional help as described. A blow to your face resulting in a black eye can be treated with cold compresses for about 15 minutes every hour. Your eye should be checked by your optometrist for internal damage. If the blow breaks your contact lenses, try to remove pieces of the lens immediately. Rinsing with water will help. Then call your optometrist.

Do not try to treat a cut, laceration or penetrating eye injury. Do not flush the eye with water or put any medicine in the eye. If you are wearing a contact lens, don't try to remove it. Gently cover the eye with a bandage or gauze pad and go directly to your doctor or a nearby hospital.

Remember, the best way to treat eye injuries is to prevent them from happening in the first place. Don't forget to be aware of potential eye hazards and wear appropriate eye protection."

Keratoconus

"Keratoconus is a vision disorder that occurs when the normally round cornea becomes thin and irregularly cone shaped. This abnormal shape prevents the light entering the eye from being focused correctly on the retina and causes distortion/blurring of vision.

In its earliest stages, keratoconus causes slight blurring and distortion of vision and increased sensitivity to glare and light. These symptoms usually appear in the late teens or late twenties. Keratoconus may progress for 10-20 years and then slow in its progression. Each eye may be affected differently. As keratoconus progresses, the cornea bulges more and vision may become more distorted. In a small number of cases, the cornea will swell and cause a sudden and significant decrease in vision. The swelling occurs when the strain of the cornea's protruding cone-like shape causes a tiny crack to develop. The swelling may last for weeks or months as the crack heals and is gradually replaced by scar tissue. If this sudden swelling does occur, your doctor can prescribe eyedrops for temporary relief, but there are no medicines that can prevent the disorder from progressing.

Eyeglasses or soft contact lenses may be used to correct the mild near sightedness and astigmatism that is caused by the early stages for keratoconus. As the disorder progresses and cornea continues to thin and change shape, rigid gas permeable contact lenses can be prescribed to correct vision adequately. In most cases, this is adequate. The contact lenses must be carefully fitted, and frequent check-ups and lens changes may be needed to achieve and maintain good vision.

In a few cases, a corneal transplant is necessary. However, even after a corneal transplant, eyeglasses or contact lenses are often still needed to correct vision."

Thyroid Eye Disease - Treatment

"Your Ophthalmologist will want to check a few points. A special x-ray called a CT scan may be done to confirm the diagnosis and make sure there is no other cause for your eye problem. An Ophthalmologist may use a special chart to record how your eyes move and will ensure that the pressure in the eye is not high (glaucoma). He will also want to make sure that the optic nerve is not affected. In mild cases, your doctor may not wish to do more than give you lubricating eye drops (artificial tears). Sometimes taping down the lid overnight with a mild adhesive strip like micropore helps to reduce the discomfort next morning. It avoids the eye drying out. You could try propping yourself up on more pillows or tilting the head end of the bed up on one or two bricks (about 6 inches: 15 cm). Some doctors will prescribe a diuretic to offload water to help reduce the swelling. Double vision is annoying, and special spectacles with prisms can be made to help correct this problem. If the eyes are getting worse, your doctor may suggest steroids (anti-inflammation tablets). These may need to be taken for some months, but often in reducing dosage. They are usually very effective. Some doctors will also suggest radiotherapy to the eyes. This is not because you have any sort of cancer cells, but because radiotherapy can dampen down this type of inflammation. The treatment is given daily over a couple of weeks. Other so-called immune-blocking drugs may also help sometimes.

Operations are necessary in certain cases, either because of severe protrusion of the eyes or because of affected vision. Sometimes they are done just for cosmetic reasons. One operation is done through the nose or gums. Bone is nibbled away from around the orbit of the eye to make more space for it. Another type of operation is done on the tendons of the eye muscles. One benefit of this is to allow the upper lid to "hang" lower and close more easily: other types of operation are done to reset the muscles into the eyes and improve double vision. Sometimes even "simple" plastic surgery to the lids can be done, since they tend to get rather baggy when the inflammation has settled."

Thyroid Eye Disease

"This is a disorder where the fat and muscles behind and around the eyes become swollen. There is still much that we do not know about it. However it seems to occur only in people who have a certain type of thyroid problem called an auto-immune disorder. Most commonly, it happens in people with an overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroid); a condition called Graves' disease . To begin with either one eye or both have only a 'stary' appearance. They may water and be sensitive to light and especially wind. They may feel sticky in the mornings and gritty during the day. In more severe cases the lids may not close properly. If the muscles which make the eyes move also get inflamed and swollen, the eyes are pushed forward and you may get double vision. This may only be on looking in one direction, but it can worsen so that double vision is there all the time. If the eyes protrude a lot, the white of the eye becomes red (like conjunctivitis). If they protrude even further, vision can be affected. This happens either because the front of the eye (the cornea) becomes more exposed and therefore drier, or because the optic nerve which carries the images back to the brain is stretched."

Treatment Of Iritis

"Treatment of iritis is often directed at finding and removing the cause of the inflammation. In addition, eye drops and ointments are used to relieve pain, quiet the inflammation, dilate the pupil, and reduce any scarring which may occur. Both steroids and antibiotics may be used. The application of hot packs may also provide relief from the symptoms of iritis. In severe cases, oral medications and injections may be necessary to treat the condition. A case of iritis usually lasts 6 to 8 weeks. During this time, the patient must be observed carefully to monitor potential side effects from medications and any complications which may occur. Cataracts, glaucoma, corneal changes, and secondary inflammation of the retina may occur as a result of iritis and the medications used to treat the disorder."