Participants sought for macular degeneration study

The Department of Ophthalmology is recruiting patients to participate in a five-year clinical trial to determine whether laser treatment can decrease vision loss for older individuals at risk of developing severe age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Age-related macular degeneration affects an estimated 1.7 million older Americans and is the leading cause of severe visual impairment in individuals over 60.

As a person ages, yellowish waste deposits called drusen begin to accumulate on the surface of the macula, the small area located in the center of the retina.

Research has shown that individuals with large amounts of dry macular drusen are more likely to develop abnormal blood vessels in this area of the eye. Those abnormal vessels can, if left untreated, lead to complete loss of vision.

In the UW clinical trial, a mild low-level laser will be used to create minuscule holes in the back of the patient’s macula. Doctors hope that these holes will allow the drusen deposits to be carried away as waste products by the bloodstream.

Over the last several years, the use of photodynamic therapy (lasers) to treat eye conditions has continued to gain attention in the medical community.

According to ophthalmologist Suresh Chandra, the study’s principal investigator, the risk to the patient in this particular trial is minimal. But the results of the trial, if encouraging, could be highly significant.

“The long-term significance of this study could be tremendous,” said Chandra. “If we find out that the use of mild laser is helpful, we can pick out patients in the early stages of AMD, apply the treatment and save them from blindness.”

The UW trial is one of 24 being conducted across the nation as part of the Complications of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Prevention Trial, a larger study being sponsored by the National Eye Institute. To be eligible to participate, patients must meet all of the following criteria:

Age 50 or older
Large drusen deposits in the retinas of both eyes. (These deposits can be viewed and identified by eye care professionals as part of a dilated eye exam.)
Visual acuity of 20/40 in both eyes
No other eye diseases that affect vision
Available for five years of follow-up
No previous laser treatment to the retina

Each patient will have one eye treated with a laser and one left untreated. Both eyes will be carefully monitored following the procedure to ensure that no complications ensue. In the following five years, participants will be required to have their eyes periodically examined by a trial-certified ophthalmologist – three times during the first year, two times during the second year and once a year thereafter.

Patients interested in participating in the clinical trial should contact Wendy L. Walker of the ophthalmology department at 608/263-9035 or by e-mail at wwalker@facstaff.wisc.edu. Further information about the National Eye Institute’s study can be obtained by visiting http://www.med.upenn.edu/ophth/research/CAPT.html.