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Pegcetacoplan: A breakthrough treatment for dry age-related macular degeneration?

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a degenerative condition affecting the macula, the part of the retina responsible for central vision. It is characterised by the presence of drusen and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) abnormalities in the absence of other macular...

Optometrist found guilty of manslaughter

To start our new Optometry section, editor Janet Pooley takes a look at the tragic death of Vincent Barker and asks what lessons can be learned. In August, Optometrist Honey Rose was found guilty of the manslaughter of eight-year-old Vincent...

A three-way partnership between Nigeria, Tanzania and Northern Ireland

VISION 2020 LINKS between Western Health and Social Care Trust (WHSCT), Altnagelvin Area Hospital, Northern Ireland with first ECWA Eye Hospital, Kano, Nigeria and now also with Mbeya Referral Hospital (MRH), Tanzania, have been beneficial to all three partners. From...

VISION 2020 LINKS Programme: the Madagascar-Leeds LINK

Madagascar is a fascinating and culturally rich island which has an ‘exotic’ status in most people’s eyes. Yet it is among the poorest countries in the world. According to the World Bank, 92% of the population live on less than...

Building capacity for diabetic retinopathy services in Malawi

Screening for diabetic retinopathy prevents blindness. There is no systematic screening programme for diabetic eye disease in Malawi and people present when they have lost vision and it is too late for treatment. The aim of the VISION 2020 LINK...

Reflections on a twelve-year partnership: The Makassar-Dundee LINK

In the first article of a two-part series (see Part 2 here), the authors provide an overview of this hugely successful partnership and how they overcame the challenges of COVID-19. What began in 2008 as a connection between equals, has...

Preventing blindness from diabetes: planning a programme of service development and research across Malawi

In sub-Saharan Africa 19.4 million people have diabetes; this is projected to rise to 28.6 million by 2030 [1]. Sight loss from diabetes devastates the lives of working people, affecting the financial stability of the families and communities who depend...

Back-to-back congresses in Africa highlight international collaboration to advance eye health

The ISOO Africa 2023 Congress The first International Society of Ocular Oncology (ISOO) [1] conference to be held in Africa took place in Mombasa, Kenya, from 21-23 August 2023. Participants came from all over Africa, as well as the US,...

DR-NET National DR Workshop in Tanzania: Policy, training and technology

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a leading cause of moderate to severe visual impairment (VI) and blindness worldwide, posing a significant public health challenge. As the prevalence of diabetes continues to rise globally, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the...

Simulated ocular surgery

See also Simulated ocular surgery - strabismus surgery and Simulated ocular surgery: pars plana vitrectomy and scleral buckling surgery This is the first of a series of articles that will have three aims. Firstly, to demonstrate why simulated ocular surgery...

Shifting the paradigm of managing patients in medical retina: how real-world data can help us to improve clinical practice

The ophthalmic subspecialty of ‘medical retina’ has undergone dramatic changes in recent years. With the introduction of ranibizumab (Lucentis, Novartis), a specialty formerly dominated by laser-based therapies has been transformed to become, in large part, pharmacotherapy-based. To date, these pharmacotherapies...

An eyeful of independence

Scots will decide this September whether or not Scotland should be an independent sovereign state. “As all key areas of our business are already fully devolved, it’s very much business as usual for us,” noted a spokesperson for Healthcare Improvement...