Lucentis for Diabetic Eye Disease

“We are thrilled that our clinical experiences have been confirmed by the positive results of a two-year clinical study of the vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitor (VEGF) drug Lucentis when used to treat Diabetic Macular Edema (DME) which is a cause of significant vision loss in patients with diabetes”, said Maine Vitreoretinal Specialist Scott Steidl , M.D. of Eyecare Medical Group in Portland. “Patients with Diabetic Retinopathy in the form of DME who received the drug experienced rapid and sustained improvement in vision compared to those who received a placebo injection.”

Diabetic Macular Edema or DME is the swelling of retina in people with diabetic eye disease called diabetic retinopathy, which causes damage to the blood vessels of retina. The DME patients suffers fluid leak from the damaged blood vessel to the central portion of retina, causing it to swell leading to blurred vision, severe vision loss and blindness.

“Of the 26 million U.S. people with diabetes, a portion of up to 10 percent tends to develop DME during their lifetime and up to 75,000 new cases of DME are estimated to develop each year”, said Vitreoretinal Surgeon Jackie Nguyen, M.D. of Eyecare Medical Group. Currently, most DME patients are treated with laser surgery that helps seal the leaky blood vessels to slow the leakage of fluid and reduce the amount of fluid in the retina.

Lucentis is approved for use by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of “Wet” Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and for Macular Edema following Retinal Vein Occlusion. In 2011, Lucentis was approved for treatment of visual impairment due to DME in Europe.

If you or someone you know has diabetes or is even prediabetic they should have regular eye exams as early detection, diagnosis and treatment of diabetic retinopathy is the key to protect their eye health and vision. Please feel free schedule an appointment at Eyecare Medical Group by calling us Toll Free at 888-374-2020.