"Retiree Luther W. takes nutritional supplements with the hope of keeping his AMD from progressing. When he's fishing, he wears sunglasses to block the harmful ultraviolet and blue rays of the sun. 'When you're younger and working hard, life goes by in a blur,' he says. 'Now, I want to savor every detail.' Research has led to new treatments to help preserve vision in patients with AMD." -- Research to Prevent Blindness. "Macular Degeneration ". Mon, 17 Sep 2007 13:07:37 -0500 http://www.silverbook.org/fact/1207 http://www.silverbook.org/fact/1207 "Judith L. didn't know she had diabetes until signs of diabetic retinopathy were discovered at her annual eye exam. The ophthalmologist referred her back to her regular doctor for treatment of her diabetes and to a retina specialist for laser treatments for her macular edema, to help seal the leaking blood vessels. She's also begun intraocular steroid injections to improve the results. Judith no longer drives at night and has trouble reading, but says she's better off than her father who also had diabetic eye problems. 'I want the next generation to be even luckier,' she says." -- Research to Prevent Blindness. "Diabetic Retinopathy". Mon, 17 Sep 2007 13:07:18 -0500 http://www.silverbook.org/fact/1208 http://www.silverbook.org/fact/1208 A new FDA-approved ophthalmic drug that treats wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD)-- pegaptanib sodium (Macugen)-- reduced vision loss in 70% of clinical trial patients. -- Gragoudas, Evangelos S., Anthony P. Adamis, Emmett T. Cunningham, Matthew Feinsod, and David R. Guyer. "Pegaptanib for Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration". NEJM. Vol. 351, No. 27, pp. 2805-16. Mon, 17 Sep 2007 13:09:03 -0500 http://www.silverbook.org/fact/1209 http://www.silverbook.org/fact/1209 Laser treatment and vitrectomy reduce blindness in patients with severe diabetic retinopathy by 90%. -- Research to Prevent Blindness. "Diabetic Retinopathy". Mon, 17 Sep 2007 13:09:50 -0500 http://www.silverbook.org/fact/1210 http://www.silverbook.org/fact/1210 A new FDA-approved ophthalmic drug that treats wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD)-- ranibizumab (Lucentis)-- maintained vision in 95% of clinical trial participants and improved vision by 15 or more letters in approximately 25% to 34% of trial participants. -- Rosenfeld, Philip J., David M. Brown, Jeffrey S. Heier, David S. Boyer, Peter K. Kaiser, Carol Y. Chung, and Robert Y. Kim. "Ranibizumab for Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration". NEJM. Vol. 355, No. 14, pp. 1419-31. Mon, 17 Sep 2007 13:11:59 -0500 http://www.silverbook.org/fact/1211 http://www.silverbook.org/fact/1211 Timely treatment and follow-up care can reduce the risk of blindness in individuals with proliferative retinopathy by 95%. -- Research to Prevent Blindness. "Diabetic Retinopathy". Mon, 17 Sep 2007 13:13:57 -0500 http://www.silverbook.org/fact/1212 http://www.silverbook.org/fact/1212 The NEI-sponsored Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) found that individuals at high risk of developing advanced stages of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) lowered their risk of disease progression by about 25% when treated with the AREDS nutritional formula (daily, high-dose combination of vitamins C,E, beta-carotene, and zinc). -- Age-Related Eye Disease Study Research Group. "A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Clinical Trial of High-Dose Supplementation with Vitamins C and E, Beta Carotene, and Zinc for Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Vision Loss: AREDS report no. 8". Archives of Ophthalmology. Vol. 119, No. 10, pp. 1417-36. Mon, 17 Sep 2007 13:16:29 -0500 http://www.silverbook.org/fact/1213 http://www.silverbook.org/fact/1213 A study on the impact of diet on age-related macular degeneration (AMD) found that those who took the highest amounts of carotenoids, such as lutein and zeaxanthin, had a 43% lower risk of age-related macular degeneration than those who took the least amounts. -- Seddon, Johanna M., Umed A. Ajani, Robert D. Sperduto, Rita Hiller, Norman Blair, Thomas C. Burton, Marilyn D. Farber, Evangelos S. Gragoudas, Julia Haller, Dayton D. Miller, et al. "Dietary Carotenoids, Vitamins A, C, and E, and Advanced Age-Related Macular Degeneration". JAMA. Vol. 272, No. 18, pp. 1413-20. Mon, 17 Sep 2007 13:17:41 -0500 http://www.silverbook.org/fact/1214 http://www.silverbook.org/fact/1214 Intensive glucose control (3 or more daily insulin injections or continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion) reduced the mean risk of retinopathy by 76% in type 1 diabetes patients who had not developed retinopathy. -- Research to Prevent Blindness. "Diabetic Retinopathy". Mon, 17 Sep 2007 13:19:12 -0500 http://www.silverbook.org/fact/1215 http://www.silverbook.org/fact/1215 Intensive glucose control (3 or more daily insulin injections or continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion) reduced the mean risk of retinopathy progression by 54% in type 1 diabetes patients with minimal-to-moderate retinopathy. -- Research to Prevent Blindness. "Diabetic Retinopathy". Mon, 17 Sep 2007 13:20:36 -0500 http://www.silverbook.org/fact/1216 http://www.silverbook.org/fact/1216