New hope in blindness battle
Updated on 05 July 2009
The surgeon who pioneered laser eye surgery to cure short-sightedness has announced a new technique which could prevent millions of older people from going blind.
Professor John Marshall, a senior ophthalmologist at King's College, London, has developed a short pulse laser technique which can delay the onset of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
AMD is the leading cause of blindness in over 60s in the western world and 200,000 people in the UK are currently registered as blind or partially sighted because of it.
Prof Marshall said the treatment delayed the effect of ageing, a process he calls "retinal rejuvenation", without damaging any other cells.
"The treatment is really treating ageing," he said.
The technique works by stimulating enzymes to remove waste material from a thin membrane behind the retina, called Bruch's membrane.
Improvements to sight were reported after the treatment was used in a clinical trial involving more than 100 diabetics.
A new trial will treat patients already suffering from AMD in one eye with the aim of saving the sight in their better eye for as long as possible.
Prof Marshall said once people have advanced AMD in one eye, studies show the condition usually develops in the second eye in 18 months to three years.
"If you can delay the onset by three, four, six, seven or 10 years, it's proof of the principle," he said.
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