HealthOnTrack

Causes of sight loss vary tremendously. The thought of experiencing slow or sudden sight loss is horrific. Losing the ability to see the world as you have for your whole life is terribly bitter pill to swallow, and although extensive research and treatments have been on going, most of the time it is not possible to completely halt the process. Diabetes is one such cause of sight loss and up until now it was just as devastating as any other cause. Recently UK regulars have just been given the go ahead to administer a new treatment that aims to improve sight in diabetic patients with vision loss. 

In a decision by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency they have now granted that patients with vision impairment due to chronic diabetic macular oedema (DME). The drug, Iluvien, is an implant inserted intravenously into the back of the patient’s eye. Where sight loss has not been treated adequately with other therapies, the new drug is great news because it tackles such a common affliction that had caused many problems in the past. We are seeing more and more clinical assistant jobs focusing in this direction at the moment.

When injected, the drug releases small doses of the active substance fluocinolone acetonide, consistently for three years. The drug was green-lighted as a result of clinical trials that revealed 38% of patients at the 30-month mark, experienced a significant cession in sight loss followed by an active improvement after receiving the drug.  After 36 months 34% of the patients achieved the same result, significantly improving their responsiveness to visual tests.

Calculated estimations speculate that three million people in the UK suffer from diabetes, while approximately 200 000 suffer from a degree of sight loss associated with diabetic macular oedema. This just emphasises the need for more investment in clinical manager jobs, innovative technologies and hopefully backing from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence for approval to use of Iluvien on the National Health Service.