New Treatment Found to Reduce Vision Loss from Central Retinal Vein Occlusion

Scientists have found the first long-term, effective treatment to improve vision and reduce vision loss that is caused by the blockage of large veins in the eye. The eye of a person with CRVO gets damaged because a blood clot slows or stops circulation in a large vein within the eye's light-sensitive retinal tissue. Reduced retinal circulation may lead to a new blood vessel growth and blood vessel leakages, resulting in retinal tissue swelling. It is a common cause of vision loss from CRVO. The treatment of eye injections containing corticosteroid medication is what scientists have been focused on in their research. The research was part of a clinical trial supported by the National Eye Institute (NEI) at the National Institutes of Health.

The study that is responsible for this discovery is The Standard Care vs. Corticosteroid for Retinal Vein Occlusion (SCORE) Study, conducted at 84 clinic sites. They found that eye injections of a corticosteroid medication could reduce vision loss related to the blockage of major blood vessels within the eye, a condition known as central retinal occlusion (CRVO). Patients who were treated with the corticosteroid injections were five times more likely to gain vision after one year than patients who were under observation.

Michael S. Ip, M.D., an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and chair of the SCORE Study summed up the significance of the discovery saying, "These are extremely compelling results because a large, longer-term clinical trial has never before showed that patients with central retinal vein occlusion could experience a visual improvement with treatment."

Vein occlusion is estimated to be the second most common condition affecting blood vessels in the retina. There is currently no treatment that exists for central retinal vein occlusion.

But now, there is a proven and effective way to treat CRVO. However some ophthalmologists have treated patients with eye injections of an anti-inflammatory corticosteroid called triamcinolone, but its effectiveness had not been tested in a clinical trial. The SCORE Study was the first study that compared the safety and effectiveness of standard care observing with two different dosages of triamcinolone. The dosages that have been considered safe and effective are 1mg and 4mg.

I found this article interesting because I have a friend who has vision problems. It's possible that similar treatment methods could be utilized to treat certain problems of the eye. If there have been advances made in treating deteriorating vision problems and is not just able to stop the progression of the condition, but actually improve vision,t hen it will not be long until they find a treatment for other similar conditions of the eye.

I found this article at http://www.nih.gov/news/health/sep2009/nei-14a.htm

-Keifer Geers