NEW Genius Platelet Rich Plasma PRP aids Corneal Repair

Initially we had Autologous Serum eye drops. These were manufactured from plasma extracted from a patients own blood. These are bottled after extraction and enhance corneal healing because of all the regenerative growth factors found in our blood plasma.

Now we have a evolution of this treatment – the Genius in-house platelet-rich plasma (PRP) extraction and centrifugal preparation system. 

The Genius system we saw at the recent 2019 Toyos Conference, is very slick, taking only 2 minutes to double spin/centrifuge the blood drawn. The whole process from drawing the blood to giving the patient 3 bottles of their own personalised eye drops takes 17 minutes. 

The Genius PRP system

A 30cc or 60cc sample of blood is usually taken from the patient’s non-dominant arm, typically from the Median Cubital Vein, the Median Cephalic Vein or the Cephalic Vein. These lie in the ante-cubital fossa which lies at the bend of the elbow at the front of the arm. Generally the Basillic Vein is avoided as it runs close to the Brachial Artery and the Ulna Nerve. The veins on the dorsal surface of the hand can be used, but require a higher level of expertise. 

PRP contains 7.8x the concentration of growth factors etc compared to whole blood or plasma and is analogous to a drip feed of amniotic membrane every day. We will be watching this space carefully as I have several patients whose eyes are too dry and sensitive to wear an amniotic membrane and bandage contact lens, even for a week or two. This could the answer for them. 

Most of the cross contamination of blood products issues do not apply as its autologous blood, the patient is only being given products made from their own blood. I expect we will see much more about this recent development in the near future.

Rolando Toyos explained at the conference that this drip feed of growth factors helped facilitate proper regrowth of corneal nerves and reduction in inflammation, often still present after corneal healing seems complete.

Don’t swerve a sight test

The AOP Don’t swerve a sight test campaign, which first launched 14 November 2017, is designed to encourage all drivers to have regular sight tests.

With an estimated 2900 road casualties caused by poor vision every year, we’re reminding motorists that a sight test, every two years, can help them stay safe and reduce the number of accidents on UK roads.

Please click the below links for more information

Driving and vision standards

Driving and vision

Testing vision on the road

A B See

Children don't know what's not normal. It's estimated more than 1 in 10 children have an undiagnosed visual problem which is affecting their learning and development. 

A sight test can help your child achieve their best. All children under the age of 16 int he UK are eligible for NHS funded eye examinations. They have also provisioned for vouchers to put towards glasses or contact lenses for under 16's. 

It is recommended taht children have a sight test with their local optometrist around the age of three. This allows any conditions which need monitoring or treating to be picked up early. After the first test, children should be seen every one to two years, depending on the optometrist's outcome. 

1 in 5 children in the UK are short-sighted

 (They can see things up close very well, but things in the distance are blurred; like the school board or teachers)

52% of parents believe every child has a full sight test at primary school, but this is not the case. 

74% of Optometrist in the last year, have seen children with vision problems which could have been treated more high success, had they been detected earlier. 

1 in 50 children will develop a lazy eye, also known as amblyopia. This becomes more difficult to treat as the child becomes older and is irreversable once past the age of 8.

Children don't need to have symptoms to be seen by an optometrist. 

Screen Time

Sunlight or white light is made up of red, orange, yellow, gren and blue light rays. Combined together, this spectrum of coloured light creats white light. 

Depending on where they lie in the spectrum, coloured light is either long wavelegnths with less energey, or short with higher energy. 

Blue light?

Blue light is high-energy visible light with much shorter wavelenghts, which is what is cause for concern. Blue light is naturally present in sunlight, but is also found in screens on our TVs, computers and phones. 

Damage?

Currently, there is no scientific evidence that blue light causes damage to the eyes. However, there is evidence suggesting that working at short distances, for example on a mobile device or reading a book for long periods can cause increased eye strain. 

Sleep?

Screen time close to bed time can cause poorer sleep quality, which means your chid's concentration levels throughout the next day are lower. This may be caused by the link between blue light and its suppression of melatonin the hormone which makes us feel sleepy. 

Nicotinamide hopes for damage in Glaucoma

Cardiff University has been granted funding, to research which dietary supplement of Nicotinamide, a form of Vitamin B3, can be used to help reduce and possibly prevent, retinal damage in Glaucoma.

Fight for Sight has helped fund this important research which could help pave the way for new types of glaucoma treatments. Currently treatment is centred around reducing eye pressure and come at a great cost both financially and in time, to the patient and the health service. 

As increased eye pressured is the main damaging driving force in glaucoma, the research will also test how effective Nicotinamide is in treating a wide range of eye pressure profiles.

There is currently a growing body of evidence which is shining a spotlight onto Nicotinamide and its protective role in preventing damage to retinal ganglion cells. (Retinal ganglion cell monitoring is now one of the latest ways to monitor and screen for glaucoma, it is also one of the earliest signs).

Cacicol corneal regenerative drops

CACICOL® is the first ophthalmologic matrix therapy agent which triggers REGENERATION of damaged tissues for ENHANCED HEALING.

 The Cacicol drop belongs to the regenerating agent family (or RGTA). These agents are key in corneal matrix repair therapy (or matrix repair). Cacicol helps to trigger the regeneration of damaged tissues for enhanced healing. It makes it possible to delay or even avoid more invasive surgical procedures. ItCacicol is intended for the management of chronic corneal wound healing, such as in dry eye, with persistent epithelial defects (where the surface layer of cells the epithelium is damaged) and persistent corneal dystrophies with associated pain. Cacicol is a regulated healthcare product which requires a medical prescription, to ensure it is best course of treatment  for each patient.Each box of contains 5 detachable and ready-to-use single-dose units and are preservative-free drops which are administered once or twice a week. CACICOL® acts as a scaffold. Its matrix structure permits the fixation and the protection of the components involved in the tissue regeneration process.

Halloween horror for one unlucky contact lens lady

A  woman was rushed to ER after store bought contact lenses were suctioned to her eyes.

To really complete an outfit, many people like to add special effect contact lenses to finish off their scary disguise.  Be it coloured eyes, cat eyes or even white eyes there are so many options available, over the counter.

Although these lenses can be bought in-store without a proper fitting, these seamlessly harmless lenses can be sight threatening. 

There are countless stories where these lenses have gone wrong, yet they still remain for sale both online and in store. A recent case in America say Gaye, a 20 year old party goer comes  close to being blind.

After wearing the lenses for a party, consulting an online video on how to insert them, Gaye struggled to remove them and fell asleep with them in situ. Later awaking to somewhat blurry vision and a strange sensation, she instilled eye drops hoping to diffuse the situation and went back to sleep. By midway through the next day, the sensation had become unbearable and Gaye feared she may be going blind. 

A trip in the ambulance to a&e, an ophthalmologist told Gaye she had scratches on the surface of her eyes, the term corneal abrasions. 

Dr Thomas Steinemann commented, “All contact lenses are medical devices and the lens has to fit the patient,” the professor of ophthalmology who treated Miss Gaye. “Even though you may not wear a correction (prescription), the lens still has to fit the outer surface of your eye, the cornea.”

Though they may look legitimate, as fashion lenses are not regulated as they are from an optometrist they could themselves have germs or be defective with chips or tears. A study in America found 48% of these lenses were contaminated.

All contact lens fitting sessions come with dos and dont’s, to help ensure the safe use of the lenses. Things like avoiding contact with water, to prevent serious infection and even wearing the lenses inside out.  


If you have any concerns with your eyes or lenses you have been using, please contact our practices for an appointment with our Optometrists. 

Nice gives Luxturna the NHS go ahead.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended the use of Luxturna (voretigene neparvovec) on the NHS, Novartis has announced.

Intravitreal injection (IVI) of a therapeutic substance is the most common procedure performed in ophthalmology. The diseases treated with this method include diabetic macular oedema (DMO), retinal vein occlusions (RVO), anti-vegf for the treatment of wet macular degeneration and gene therapy for choroideremia.

The treatment has been approved as an option for treating RPE65-mediated inherited retinal dystrophies in people with vision loss caused by inherited retinal dystrophy from confirmed biallelic RPE65 mutations, who have sufficient viable retinal cells



The drug is injected under the retina and carries a functioning RPE65 gene to act in place of the faulty one, and is recommended based on data from a Phase I clinical trial which found that the difference in mean change in binocular MLMT score between patients treated and the control group was 1.6.

It's estimated that 86 people would be eligible for treatment with voretigene neparvovec in England
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended Luxturna (voretigene neparvovec) for use in the NHS in England, making it the first available treatment for an inherited retinal dystrophy.

Voretigene neparvovec is the first licensed gene therapy for vision loss caused by RPE65-meidated inherited retinal dystrophy.

In the gene therapy, a healthy copy of the gene is injected directly into the eye so a working protein can be produced. Patients have to have some functioning retinal cells for it to work.
Research has shown that, in the short term that the drug improves vision and prevents the condition from getting worse. The draft recommendations are now out for consideration by the company, healthcare professionals and patient groups. If there are no appeals, NICE expects to publish its final guidance next month. The treatment would then become available from January 2020. The voretigene neparvovec evaluation at NICE has taken 20 weeks instead of the average of 38 weeks within the Highly Specialised Technologies programme.

This treatment is only for the treatment of Leber congenital amaurosis type 2 (LCA2) and severe early-onset RP caused by mutations in a specific gene called RPE65.
Researchers are hopeful this could pave the way for similar treatments for dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) to be made available on the NHS. Evidence from clinical trials shows that, in the short term, voretigene neparvovec improves vision and prevents the condition from getting worse. There is no long-term clinical evidence, but the committee considered it is biologically plausible that the treatment effect is likely to continue for decades.

The list price of voretigene neparvovec is £613,410 per patient. This technology breached the Budget Impact Test, meaning it would have cost the NHS more than £20 million in one of the first three years after being introduced. However, the company has a commercial arrangement with NHS England making the treatment available to the NHS at a discount, the size of which is commercial in confidence.

This gene therapy is similar to that used for the treatment of Choroideremia

AMD replication in Mice

UK researchers have replicated features of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in mice.
Sight loss caused by damage to the central retina in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) represents the most common cause of irreversible blindness in developed societies. Scientists describe how the mice displayed characteristics of early stage geographic atrophy (withering away).  Early stages of geographic atrophy (GA) age-related macular degeneration is characterised by the demise of photoreceptors, which precedes the loss of underlying retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. Sight-loss due to GA has no effective treatment; reflecting both the complexity of the disease and the lack of suitable animal models for testing potential therapies. To develop a mouse model with reproducible early GA-like features, retinas were exposed an 810 nm diode laser. The effects were assessed by colour fundus photography based on discolouration indicative of retinal atrophy. OCT scans from mice treated with the laser showed rapid development of a geographic atrophic region. An observed development of lesions in 63/80 animals, displayed an overall success rate of 80%.The researchers highlighted that a lack of dry AMD models has previously been one of the factors inhibiting the development of potential new therapies targeting the condition.

Dr Arjuna Ratnayaka, from the University of Southampton, said that the research was the result of multi -disciplinary work between scientists and clinicians over a seven-year period. “These mice could help us understand how AMD causes damage to the retina, which is desperately needed,” he said.“This is important, as it appears that prolonged injections of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor inhibitors, which is used to manage wet AMD in patients, can sometimes result in a switch to the dry form.”

Why driving with sunglasses on could land you a £2,500 fine

Did you know that driving with sunglasses on could actually land you a hefty £2,500 fine and nine points on your licence?

The Highway Code states that drivers must slow down or pull over if dazzled by bright sunlight and if you don't (and you're not wearing sunglasses to protect your eyes), you could be convicted of careless driving.

If caught, you may receive an on-the-spot fine of £100 and up to three penalty points on your licence, or you could go to court where the fine can be increased up to £2,500 and nine points.

However, as reported by The Plymouth Herald, you can actually be breaking laws while driving with sunglasses on too.

The reason for this is because sunglasses are divided into four categories based on the amount of light they filter out, with some being acceptable to wear while driving and others illegal.

Most sunglasses are category two - meaning that they filter between 18 and 43 per cent of light and are suitable for driving.

If you have category four sunglasses, which let less than eight per cent of light through, you're breaking the law.

Please see this handy guide below to help you work out which category of sunglasses are most suitable for your needs.

Do E-Cigarettes vaporise the health risks associated with smoking?

Everyone is aware of the dangers of both active and passive smoking and the recent smoking in public places regulations highlight this awareness. E-cigarettes are claimed by Public Health England(PHE) to be 95% less harmful than conventional cigarettes, largely because they do not subject the user or people nearby to tar and carbon monoxide. This is not endorsed by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence(NICE) as a smoking cessation device. Some respiratory specialists are concerned that Vaping “risks a further epidemic of lung disease for today’s children”.

The nicotine is vaporised with a mix of polypropylene glycol and glycerine and often other flavourings. The vape material can cause adverse changes in the lining of the lungs which can lead to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease(COPD) and may be associated with heart disease (myocardial infarction). Vapes that contain nicotine salts rather than free based nicotine are less volatile and as such more of the nicotine reaches deeper into the lungs.

As vaping has only been round for a relatively short time, we do not know all its adverse effects. We do know that the chemicals in the vapour such as formaldehyde are toxic to the ocular surface and can cause irritation and dry eye. This can apply to passive vaping as well as direct use.

The nicotine itself can affect the eye especially in diabetics, by speeding up diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular oedema. By reducing the retinal blood flow nicotine can contribute to the early development of Macular Degeneration (AMD). Eye Care Practitioners need to be alert for signs of these conditions in Vape users.

Transitions Contact lenses arriving in the UK!

The clever contact lens that knows light, these contact lenses change colour in the sun. They automatically turn a darker shade of grey, giving you increased comfort, better vision and reduced glare all without sunglasses.

Seamlessly adapting to changing light levels in our day to day, they provide more effortless sight with less squinting, all day. The new technology reduces the impact of the eye’s exposure to light both indoors and outdoors. The Oasys is a 2 weekly replacement lens, which currently covers a wide range of prescriptions (-12.00D to +8.00D). 

The lens offers a blue light filter, blocks harmful UV and gives improved adaptation when moving from indoor to bright outdoor sunlight. 

After more than a decade of in-depth research and clinical trials, the lens which provides more than benefits to clear vision, is set to arrive in the UK later this year. Acuvue Oasys with Transitions Light Intelligent Technology is already available in America and Canada, creating quite the buzz.

Research offers new approach on glaucoma treatment.

A new trail compares drops and laser-based treatment could have a huge impact on how we manage the disease.

A milestone study has opened up new possibilities for managing the disease. 80% of patients respond as well as they would to the eye drop PGA and if the laser treatment wears off over time it can be repeated. It takes 10 minutes in an outpatient setting, using a YAG laser and side effects are most uncommon.

Research from Moorfields Eye Hospital and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology showed using SLT, selective laser trabeculoplasty on newly diagnosed patients was more successful and cost effective, than the current method of drops. SLT has become an established treatment for glaucoma but due to the lack in evidence and perception of the laser, has not yet been widely adopted.

The studies main question was ‘Should SLT be used first line?’ The answer was a resounding yes. SLT is safe and more effective as a first line, with drops later as needed. 93% of patients met their pressure target at 3 years, with 72% not requiring any drops at all.

The LiGHT trail, one of the biggest of its kind assigned one of the two treatments to each patient; either the traditional eye drops or the quick, painless laser which disrupts the blockage. SLT was first introduced in 1995 and become a recognised replacement for argon laser trabeculoplasty (ALT). Though both are effective and safe SLT is safer and more repeatable

‘Eyes of patients in the SLT group were within target intraocular pressure at more visits by 93% than those in the eye drops group at 91%, with glaucoma surgery to lower intraocular pressure required in none versus 11 patients,’ in a report funded by the National Institute for Health Research.

SLT has now been recommended as the first-line of treatment for open angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension. 600,000 people in the UK are living with glaucoma and with an aging population, Glaucoma Research Foundation have said it expects rates of the disease to increase in the coming decades. 

Researches await the NHS to clinically endorse the laser as first-line which could be life-changing for glaucoma patients. Currently the eye drops work to lower pressure in the eye by increasing the fluid outflow and reducing the amount of aqueous the eye produces. Laser treatment becomes an option if the drops prove ineffective. 

According to the NHS, ‘you may need to try several types (of eye drops) before you find the one that works best for you. Sometimes you may need to use more than one type at a time.’ Consider the amount of time required both on the patients’ side and the prescribing medic, glaucoma can be a time consuming and costly disease. Requiring regular check-ups to monitor pressure and for those who are ineligible for free prescriptions, a financial burden too. 

Trabeculoplasty is used most often to treat open-angle glaucoma. A laser beam is used to place a small hole in the iris (the coloured part of the eye) which allows the aqueous to drain more freely within the eye so the iris doesn’t plug up the trabecular meshwork.  

This new form of treatment would reduce outpatient visits, if not eliminate them all together. Reducing the pressure on the hospital eye services and set to save the NHS up to £1.5m a year in direct treatment costs for newly diagnosed patients.  

These results could fundamentally change how glaucoma is treated worldwide. 

It is Glaucoma Week

It is Glaucoma Week, a disease that remains one of the biggest causes of irreversible blindness globally. There is huge publicity in a bid to attract people to have regular eye examinations and optic nerve checks, especially first degree relatives, FDR.

FRDs are at 10 times the risk of developing glaucoma. If these relatives acted and had regular glaucoma checks, it's likely to save a great deal of sight. Glaucoma is a group of diseases, causing progressive damage to vision. What is surprising for  most patients, is that it does so without any prior warning or symptoms until much later in the disease process. While treatment here is effective against further progress, so arresting the disease, there is no reverse to the damage done. Early diagnosis is key for preserving vision.

The World Glaucoma Associated aims to eliminate glaucoma blindness through awareness and examination.

NEW IPL (intense pulsed light) TREATMENT FOR DRY EYE AVAILABLE AT MATHESON OPTOMETRISTS

Matheson Optometrists now provide a new treatment for Dry Eye called IPL(intense pulsed light). In the photo below you can see a patient having the procedure performed.

Using the advanced Lumenis M22 device scientifically controlled pulses of intense red light of only a few milli-seconds duration are applied to the eyelids and upper face.

IPL has been used since 1995 to treat abnormal blood vessels and inflammation in diseases such as Acne Rosacea. It is thought to exert its effects by several different mechanisms:-

·     The abnormal blood vessels in the inflammed lid margin are closed as the IPL light coagelates the oxy-haemoglobin flowing through them. This stops the vessels releasing inflammatory mediators into the meibomian glands in the lid margin.

·     Improved nerve function around the meibomian glands

·     The IPL flash heats up and melts the meibum secretions blocking the glands

·     Kill demodex mites living in the meibomian glands

In addition it is thought that there is a “photo-BioModulation”mechanism due to the red visible and the infra-red IPL light which improves the function at a cellular level which

·     Improves mitochondrial function

·     Improves calcium channel flow

·     Modifies the secretion of inflammation products

·     Suppresses MMP proteolytic enzymes thereby improving the extracellular matrix

All these effects help normalise the tear film

Illustration of application zones 14 pulse sequences per treatment. Usually four sessions are required with between 2 and 3 week breaks between sessions.

This a new and exciting addition to the armoury of products and techniques we now have to treat dry eye, such as  New eye drops like Meibo-Tears that contain phospholipid liposome molecules that help the lipid surface layer of the tear film to the watery component beneath.

·     Combined Fish Oil/Flax Oil supplements such as Theratears Nutrition to improve meibomian secretion quality and quantity and reduce inflammation

·     Punctal Plugs to slow down tear drainage and thereby increase tear volume

·     Amniotic membranes that stimulate corneal healing

For the best possible recommendations we recommend having a full Dry Eye Assessment at one of our practices.

Healthy Eyes AMD Supplement

Dry macula degeneration has 2 subtypes, drusen based and atrophy based. In drusenoid macula degeneration there is a gradual build up of waste products in the retina, formed during the process of seeing. Just underneath the photo-receptors is the retinal pigment epithelium, the drusen deposits here disrupt the normal regular spacing of the photo-receptors and distort our central vision.

There is a gene therapy research trial being undertaken in Oxford on dry AMD, which although is in the early stages is proving promising. The degenerating process and build up of waste product is normally slow and currently the only proven way to attempt to slow down progression is to take an antioxidant vitamin/mineral supplement, such as Healthy Eyes.

Healthy Eyes are a chewable supplement containing Lutein and Zeaxanthin which is perfect for those suffering or wishing to lessen their chances of developing age related Macula degeneration.

The chews are formed from natural fruit pectin ( a gelling agent extracted from citrus fruits), giving it a pleasant and fruity taste. There are no artificial colourings or flavourings and are gelatin and gluten free. To suit most modern diets, they also contain no milk, wheat, eggs or nuts and have no artificial sweeteners.

These waste products building up in the retina are now being picked up earlier than before, with OCT scanning and Autofluorescence Photography. Matheson Optometrists are working with retinal camera developers in building a system for this. When Lipofusin (considered an aging or 'wear-and-tear' pigment) in the retina is illuminated with a specific wavelength of visible light, it fluoresces, or glows.

Surgeons perform first gene therapy procedure aimed at stopping AMD-related blindness

The first gene therapy procedure, aimed at stopping age-related macula degeneration (AMD) has just been completed by researchers.

Robert MacLaren FRCOphth a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Oxford undertook the operation at the John Radcliffe Hospital, also in Oxford.

Professor MacLaren ran the first gene therapy clinical trials from Oxford for rarer causes of blindness, Choroideremia and retinitis pigmentosa. Professor MacLaren ran the first gene therapy clinical trials from Oxford for rarer causes of blindness, Choroideremia and retinitis pigmentosa.

The patient, Janet Osborne an 80-year-old woman from Oxford, has geographic atrophy (GA) which is associated with progressed dry AMD. It causes blurring in the central part of vision, for Janet in her left eye.

The procedure involves detaching the retina, injecting a virus-containing solution, beneath. Contained in the virus is the modified DNA sequence which infects the retinal pigment epithelium cells and corrects the genetic defect which causes AMD, reports Oxford University Hospital.

"We're harnessing the power of the virus, a naturally occurring organism, to deliver the DNA into the patient's cells. When the virus opens up inside the retinal cell it releases the DNA of the gene we have cloned, and the cell starts making a protein that we think can modify the disease, correcting the imbalance of the inflammation caused by the complement system." MacLaren stated at the release.

"It is an interesting application and approach to this very common cause of vision loss," Allen C. Ho, MD, the Director of the Retina Research Program at Wills Eye Hospital and OSN Retina/Vitreous Board Member noted.

The operation was the first phase of the 1/2 FOCUS trial, which is accessing the biological activity of the treatment, developed by Gyroscope Therapeutics.

"What's unique about this particular clinical trial is that they are trying gene therapy surgically delivered to the subretinal space to try to modify the disease process," Ho said. While other clinical trials are testing injection therapies to treat dry AMD and geographic atrophy, there are no proven treatments currently.

Ho added, "Using gene therapy for this form of the disease to modify disease progression is interesting and exciting science, but not proven yet."

OCT scan of dry AMD.

OCT Scan of wet AMD.

UK biotech Gyroscope Therapeutics could have a mass market product on its hands if its new gene therapy for one of the most common form of blindness proves effective.

It is estimated that 196 million people globally will have the disease in 2020, while 11m will suffer significant vision loss. The company dosed the first patient with their one-off targeted injection, in hopes to prevent any further photoreceptor degeneration in the retina. In the UK already 600,000 people are affected by AMD.

Targeting the naturally occurring molecule which is responsible for activating MAC, a cell-killing factor named the membrane attack complex which in dry AMD seems to have gone rogue. MAC damages healthy retinal cells as well as unhealthy cells. The injection acts to block the molecule from attacking, this injection being the first of the companies' therapies to progress into clinic.

The initial trial will check the safety of the procedure and provide evidence that it can slow down degeneration. If early signs are positive, the therapy testing will be expanded to include patients with less advanced AMD. 

" A genetically defined treatment administered early on to preserve vision in patients who would otherwise lose their sight would be a tremendous breakthrough and certainly something I hope to see int he near future," said MacLaren. 

These pioneering advances in medicine follow on from the clinical trials for the treatment of choroideramia which has recently been successful.

Gene therapy treatments could prove useful for other conditions

Currently under trial are

Professor MacLaren said: 'This is a rapidly evolving field. Given that we understand a lot more now about the manufacture of the treatment, and the effects of the virus when doing gene therapy at the back of the eye, as well as all the other gene therapy programmes being developed at the moment, I would hope that we’ll see a treatment for people with dry AMD within the next few years.'

For further reading please see

http://www.retina-specialist.com/article/gene-therapy-the-new-frontier-for-inherited-retinal-disease