May 20, 2009 6:00 pm US/Eastern
Health Alert: Reversing Blindness
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
Reversing blindness -- it's a potential breakthrough treatment for macular degeneration. The vision-robbing disease has become an epidemic, with millions of people desperate for better treatments. The latest new treatment comes from across the Atlantic.
Nigel Cook, a formerly blind police officer in the U.K., is driving for the first time in years. He has macular degeneration, where central vision is slowly obscured.
Cook had an experimental treatment that has given him his vision back.
"It has changed my day-to-day life beyond recognition," said Cook. "It's so exciting."
Surgeons implanted a tiny lens in each eye. They act like a telescope to enlarge peripheral vision.
"Patients who are struggling to carry out activities of daily living may suddenly find it easier to cook meals or find their way around the house," said Dr. Andrew Luff of Optegra Eye Hospital in Guildford, Surrey, UK. "I've also had good reports that patients are able to play golf rather better than they could before."
Dr. Luff, who pioneered the treatment, says about a quarter of his patients have had a significant vision improvement. Half are somewhat better.
Skeptics say the iffy results aren't worth the expensive price tag, and it's only available privately in the U.K.
But for Nigel Cook, who can now take a stroll with his dogs and read the paper, it was worth the risk.
There are other treatments for macular degeneration, including newly-approved medications. An implantable miniature telescope that was tested here in Philadelphia at Wills Eye will be available in the near future.
RELATED LINKS:
American Macular Degeneration Foundation
VisionCare Ophthalmic Technologies
Optegra Eye Hospital
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