Physicians and patients in SERA’s
Knoxville and Tri-Cities offices served in a landmark
diabetic retinopathy treatment study whose results
were released in May 2010 by the National Eye Institute.
The study found that ranibizumab (Lucentis)
eye injections in combination with laser treatment
results in better vision than laser treatment alone
for diabetes-associated swelling of the retina.
Laser treatment alone has been the
standard care for the past 25 years. But the
study shows that nearly 50 percent of patients who
received the new treatment experienced substantial
visual improvement after one year, compared to 28
percent who received the standard laser treatment.
Fifty-two clinical sites within the
Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network (DRCR.net)
participated in the study, supported by the National
Eye Institute (NEI) and the National Institute of
Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, part
of the National Institutes of Health.
“It is a great honor to contribute
to the ongoing progress in retinal research,”
says Dr. Joseph M. Googe, Jr., a SERA ophthalmologist
who works out of the group’s Knoxville location.
“Above all else, participation in cutting
edge research helps SERA patients. Proximity to
clinical trials gives SERA patients the opportunity
to take advantage of new drugs as soon as they are
available, and their participation in highly monitored
studies is a service that both physician and patient
can feel good about,” he says.
"We are proud to provide the
latest treatments and technologies to our patients,"
says Dr. Howard L.Cummings, one of SERA’s
Tri-Cities ophthalmologists. "By participating
in clinical trials such as these, both SERA patients
and physicians are contributing to our better understanding
of diabetic retinopathy," he says. "The
best outcomes for patients arrive through the practice
of evidence based medicine. This is born through
research. That is why we participate in these national
studies."
Googe says, “Taking part in
clinical research trials keeps SERA physicians sharp,
working at the forefront of the latest developments
in retinal treatments. By participating in research,
we have continuous communication with our colleagues
around the country, providing immediacy in putting
to use the latest methods for managing our patients’ diseases.”
The NEI study included a total of
854 eyes of 691 people, some of them SERA patients,
who had one or both eyes treated. Participants,
who were on average in their early 60s, were diagnosed
with type 1 or 2 diabetes and macular edema.
Diabetic retinopathy is the most common
cause of vision loss in working-age Americans. This
condition damages the small blood vessels in the
eye's light-sensitive retinal tissue. When these
damaged blood vessels begin to leak fluid near the
center of the retina, known as the macula, macular
edema occurs. The macula provides detailed central
vision used for activities such as reading, driving,
and distinguishing faces. In macular edema the retinal
tissue swells, which can lead to vision loss if
left untreated.
Full study results are published in
the journal Ophthalmology
atophsource.org/webfiles/images/journals/ophtha/press_release.pdf
