Health
Macular degeneration drug may be effective for diabetes-associated eye problems
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Jan. 15, 2007
A medication approved to treat wet age-related macular degeneration could become a therapy for diabetic macular edema, according to a study published in the December 2006 American Journal of Ophthalmology.
Researchers used ranibizumab on 10 patients with this condition over a six-month period. Participants experienced improvements in their vision as well as biological markers of eye disease. The authors note that a much larger randomized trial should occur to determine the safety and efficacy of this drug in this patient group.
"The results are impressive, although we will not know until we begin a larger clinical trial what the long-term benefits of the drug might be," said Quan Dong Nguyen, MD, MSc, lead author and assistant professor of ophthalmology at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.
Ranibizumab was approved to treat wet age-related macular degeneration by the Food and Drug Administration in June 2006 and is under study to treat several related conditions.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2007/01/15/hlbf0115.htm.
