Active clinical trials for "Macular Degeneration"

The macular pigment (MP) in humans consists of the yellow, blue-absorbing carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, which are contained in vegetables and fruits. The highest concentrations of lutein and zeaxanthin are found in the fovea. Since light entering the eye passes through the MP before reaching the photo receptors it absorbs a significant portion of short-wavelength light. There is evidence that these absorbing properties of the MP as well as the ability of inactivating highly reactive oxygen species are protective for the retina. Measurement of macular pigment is difficult and the investigators have recently proposed a way of measuring macular pigment optical density (MPOD) based on optical reflectometry. There is increased interest in these measurements in the recent years, because a number of studies has provided evidence that low fruit and vegetable consumption increases the risk of age related macular degeneration (AMD). The present study investigates MP optical density (OD) in healthy volunteers and is used to form a database. Furthermore the nutritional habits and the influence on MP density will be evaluated.

Background: - Alzheimer s disease affects the brain and causes memory and thinking problems in older people. Macular degeneration (MD) is an eye condition. It is the leading reason that people over age 55 in the United States lose their central vision. Central vision is important for seeing fine details and for tasks like reading and driving. A feature of Alzheimer s disease is plaques in the brain. A feature of age-related MD is deposits in the retina in the eye. Researchers want to learn more about these diseases and find out if they are related. Objective: - To see whether there is a relationship between Alzheimer s disease and age-related macular degeneration. Eligibility: - People with or without Alzheimer s disease enrolled in another study. Participants must have someone to help them take part in this study. Design: Participants will be screened through the other study. They will have 1 visit. The tests will take about 3 hours. Participants will answer questions about their medical and eye history. Participants will have an eye exam to test how well they see. Their eye pressure will be measured and their eye movements will be checked. Participants will get eye drops to dilate their pupils. Researchers will take pictures of the retina and the inside of the eye. Researchers may measure the thickness of the retina. Participants will continue to receive care from their regular eye doctor during and after the study.

This study seeks to better characterize relationships between visual function and the progression (worsening) of geographic atrophy (GA) due to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The study is also intended to generate new information on the relationship between genetics and GA progression. This is a global, prospective, multicenter, epidemiologic study enrolling participants with GA secondary to AMD. The study visits are scheduled to occur every 6 months. The anticipated duration of the study is up to 48 months. There is a planned interim analysis around the 2-year time window for the study.

This study seeks to better characterize relationships between visual function and the progression (worsening) of geographic atrophy (GA) due to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The study also will generate new information on the relationship between genetics and GA progression. This is a global, prospective, multicenter, epidemiologic study enrolling 200 participants with GA secondary to AMD. The study visits are scheduled to occur every 6 months. The anticipated duration of the study is up to 60 months.

The aim of this study is to compare the efficacy of early intervention of PDT combination compared with consecutive monthly treatment of intravitreal ranibizumab injections in PCV patients showing insufficient response with initial loading dose.

The need for low vision services (LVS) will increase exponentially over the coming years due to the anticipated and exponential growth in the ageing population in Singapore and a rise in chronic non-communicable eye diseases. Finding the best evidenced-based management for chronic eye diseases contributing to low vision (LV) is therefore crucial. Improving patient responsibility is the key to managing LV effectively.1 This means achieving optimum self management (SM).2 However, there are currently no LV SM programs in Singapore and none has been evaluated using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design, the gold standard methods to evaluate health interventions. The aims of this study are to assess the effectiveness of the 'Living Successfully with Low Vision (LSLV)' program in improving quality of life (QoL) in 160 elderly people with LV attending the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) LV clinic. Of these, 80 will be randomly allocated to receive the LSLV 4-week SM program while the remaining 80 will receive the usual care. Comparisons will be made to determine the efficacy of the LSLV program. QoL, self-efficacy, emotional well being, and vision-specific distress will be assessed 2 weeks after training, and at six months and 12 months post intervention. This study will be the first evidenced-based RCT investigating the effectiveness of a novel vision-specific self-management strategy to improve QoL. It will also adopt a longitudinal design where the effectiveness of these interventions will be evaluated at 12 months-the first follow-up assessment of that duration at both national and international levels. Furthermore this will be the first study to characterize and profile the patients where the effect of the program did not demonstrate an improvement in both primary and secondary outcomes six months after its completion. The future clinical implications of this study include the potential to implement a successful model of LV rehabilitation in other tertiary centres around the country.

Significant difference in the parameter settings of early optical coherence tomography (OCT spectal domain) in patients with subfoveal neovascular membrane realacionada age after treatment with a single intravitreal injection of Lucentis.

Clinical Retina research studies often collect aqueous samples in hopes of estimating levels of drug or cytokines in the vitreous. Little is known about how well vitreous and aqueous correlate. This study will collect vitreous and aqueous samples at the same time to evaluate and compare drug and cytokine levels. The overall objective of this study is to evaluate the molecular concentration of growth factors, cytokines and chemokines in human aqueous humor and vitreous samples collected from individuals undergoing pars plana vitrectomy for tractional retinal detachment secondary to proliferative diabetic retinopathy, exudative or tractional retinal detachment secondary to macular degeneration, macular hole or neovascular glaucoma.

To demonstrate the effects of Lucentis (ranibizumab), Avastin ( bevacizumab), and Eylea ( aflibercept) on the levels of naturally occurring Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) in the systemic circulation of Age Related Macular Degeneration patients currently treated with these medications.

This is a research study to evaluate the effects of repeated intravitreal injections on bacteria around the eye.