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My Top Five: Innovative approaches to dry AMD

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness in the developing world with its prevalence rising alongside age. In societies characterised by ageing populations, it is imperative we explore more effective treatment to alleviate the...

Is an increased homocysteine level associated with greater risk of AMD?

Basic research studies have implicated homocysteine in causing vascular endothelial dysfunction and inflammation, and this has been borne out in large observational studies which suggested that elevated homocysteine is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. In order to determine...

Macular pigment in relatives of AMD patients

Blue light causes photo-oxidative retinal injury and macular pigment (MP), with lutein, zeaxanthin and mesozeaxanthin as the main components, as a filter that protects the macula from this damage. Previous studies indicated that low levels of macular pigment optical density...

The long-term effects of AREDS on AMD progression

The Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) was an 11-centre, double-masked, clinical trial that in 2001 found a high-dose of antioxidant vitamins plus zinc was effective in protecting against progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in patients with moderate to high...

Control of bleeding with diabetic vitrectomy under air

The authors describe a modified diabetic vitrectomy using continuous air infusion in diabetic eyes with severe fibrovascular proliferation. In their case series of 25 eyes (20 patients), intravitreal bevacizumab (1.25mg) was used one week prior to surgery. Fifteen eyes had...

ILM peeling in primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment

This author retrospectively analysed the correlation between internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling and the occurrence of a postoperative epiretinal membrane (ERM) in patients who underwent vitrectomy for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RD). There were 135 medical records investigated. Seventy patients underwent...

CD40L activation of human RPE cells

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of reduced visual acuity in the elderly worldwide. The risk factors involved in AMD include smoking and diet, while genetics have been shown to have a significant role. Recently a link between...

Computerised visual acuity measurements in AMD

The aims of this study were to investigate whether half-letter width spacing in COMPlog algorithms had an adverse effect on agreement in patients with AMD with the ETDRS chart. Fifty adult participants with AMD took part with a median age...

AMD and visceral fat and pro-inflammatory factors

Several large studies have shown a positive relationship between age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) and high body mass index. The waist-hip ratio is also associated with development of early AMD. Visceral fat has a pro-inflammatory effect, which means it has an...

The rarebit vision test for macular conditions

Rarebit testing is used to measure low degrees of neuro-visual damage and is available for free on the internet. It consists of a fixed bright light dot presented on a black background. During testing it is presented briefly at different...