A new study finds that Lucentis (ranibizumab) significantly improves the vision of patients with very poor baseline visual acuity secondary to neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Treatment with anti-VEGF drugs has become the standard treatment of choroidal neovascularisation (CNV) because of AMD. However, information is limited...

Jim Vlock is on a mission. Afflicted 15 years ago with macular degeneration, a retinal disorder that erodes central vision and thus the ability to drive, read, watch television and recognize faces, Mr. Vlock is determined to spread the word about the many devices that can help people like him live more fulfilling, independent and productive lives....

A new study finds that low vision device training does not improve self-reported difficulty with activities of daily living. Participants were recruited from those attending their first low vision assessment (LVA). Participants completed the Mass of Activity Inventory (MAI) questionnaire by telephone before their appointment. After LVA,...

People with end-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD) have improved visual acuity and quality of life after receiving an intraocular implant containing a tiny telescope in 1 eye, new research shows. An ophthalmologist who participated in the clinical trials presented the results at the American Academy of Ophthalmology 2010 Joint Meeting....

The success of the recently approved implantable telescope for use in patients with end-stage age-related macular degeneration will depend on careful patient selection and a team-based approach to patient management, according to a speaker at the joint meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Middle East Africa Council of...

A new research study finds that significant improvement in visual acuity was attained by refraction in 11% of the new low-vision patients. Refraction often may be overlooked in low-vision patients, because the main cause of vision decrease is not refractive, but rather is the result of underlying ocular disease. This study was carried out to...

In a reversal of popular assumptions new research shows that when people with sight loss suffer depression and low quality of life it is more to do with low incomes, ill health and lack of social participation, than it is to do with their loss of vision. The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Manchester School of Social...

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a visual prosthetic device known as an Implantable Miniature Telescope to improve vision in patients 75 years and older with stable severe to profound vision impairment caused by bilateral central scotoma associated with end-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Smaller than a pea,...

Improvement in visual acuity is often considered the best indicator of the effectiveness of a treatment in age-related maculopathy. However, during the course of the disease, the location of the patients' preferred retinal locus of fixation may change. This can lead to an unexpected functional improvement, unrelated to treatment. Macular...

A combination of an anterior chamber IOL and posterior chamber IOL that functions like a Galilean telescope offers reasonable visual recovery for patients with sight-threatening age-related macular degeneration, according to a speaker. "The IOL-Vip system (LenSpecial) seems to be a promising new device for visual rehabilitation of patients...