Active clinical trials for "Retinal Diseases"

One of the first causes of irreversible blindness in mexican population is diabetic retinopathy which is clearly diferent between patients the time of evolution and development of retinopathy and complications. The aim of this study is to explore the inmunogenetic profile and the influence of HLA in this variations of the sickness to predict the severity of diabetic complications.

The project aims to find mechanisms for the abnormal retinal blood flow that in diabetic patients often precedes any evidence of clinical retinopathy and may contribute to the development of retinopathy. Specifically, the projects tests the hypothesis that reduced retinal blood flow found in young patients with type 1 diabetes reflects increased resistance in the small vessels of the retina caused by the formation of small blood clots, called microthrombi; and that antiplatelet agents normalize the reduced retinal blood flow.

Accumulating evidence suggest that the functional unit of photoreceptor/ retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)/Bruch's membrane/choriocapillaris plays a key role in pathophysiologic processes of a wide range of medical retinal disorders of the eye. Little is known about in vivo morphometric characteristics of human RPE cells as in vivo observation of these cells was so far technically challenging and hence nearly impossible to implement in a clinical setting. Transscleral optical phase imaging is a novel in-vivo microscopy technique allowing human RPE imaging on a cellular level with the potential of clinical application in a multimodal retinal imaging approach for diagnostic purpose in medical retina patients.

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a blinding disease affecting infants born prematurely. These infants do not have enough essential fatty acids to structurally support the retina, the nerve tissue in the eye which allows us to see. A recent study showed that giving omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids to these infants soon after birth made them less likely to need invasive treatments for eye disease. This research trial will give young infants born prematurely n-3 fish oil treatment and look at how this changes factors in the blood that promote disease. Detailed blood studies comparing infants with and without ROP will be performed and the infants will be followed over time to assess their eye development.

Proliferative diabetic retinopathy(PDR) is the leading cause of visual loss in diabetic patients. Operation is an efficient method to treat PDR. Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) can be used as an adjuvant therapy which can make operation more easy.

Currently, there is little recent data on regional variations in treatment methods, neonatal units that provide retinopathy (ROP) treatment, facilities for treatment available at each unit including anaesthetic support for such preterm babies, facilities to transfer babies to units that offer treatment etc. While some parts of the UK have established neonatal networks and agreements among units for ROP treatment, in other parts, such arrangements are illdefined. The number of babies needing ROP treatment may be higher since the introduction of revised guidelines in 2008 as earlier treatment has been shown to be beneficial. Collecting epidemiological data through the British Ophthalmic Surveillance Unit (BOSU) on the incidence of treatable ROP, the treatment methods used and facilities for treatment will provide the foundation for effective planning of resources and manpower to deal with the additional demand.

The overall purpose of this COMIRB application is to perform a cross-sectional pilot study to aid in the design of a prospective epidemiologic study for an NIH grant application. The long term goal of this research is to determine if AGEs are predictors of glycemic control and the development of diabetic retinopathy in patients with T2DM. Understanding these relationships could lead to a prospective prediction of the onset/worsening of diabetic retinopathy in T2DM patients and in pre-diabetic individuals.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most common visual complication of diabetes. Risk factors for developing DR are diabetes duration, glycemic control, and hypertension . The prevalence ranges from 17 to 61% according to the diabetes duration . Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is very frequent in Type 2 Diabetes population, reaching a prevalence of 23-48% . Few is known about the exact role of OSAS in the development of DR. A recent study has shown that OSAS is an independent predictor for the progression to pre-/proliferative DR. The purpose of the present study is to assess if the presence of OSA in diabetic patients is a predictive factor for DR occurrence.

the purpose of this study is to examine whether the deployment of a non-mydriatic color fundus camera in a rural prime care setting is feasible and improves the detection rate of diabetic retinopathy in patients where adherence rates with recommended ophthalmology screening is low.

The purpose of this study is to test a way to support practices to improve attendance at retinopathy screening among people with diabetes. This new approach will be delivered to staff in general practice and involves: 1) briefing and audit training for practice staff; 2) electronic alerts on patient files to prompt GPs and nurses to remind patients, 3) face-to-face, phone and letter reminders and a brief information sheet for people with diabetes who have not attended screening, and; 4) payment to practices. The practice will carry out an audit to identify patients who have not attended screening, and re-audit at 6 months to identify any changes in attendance. The study will test this new approach over six months in eight different practices to determine whether it is feasible to deliver in a real-world setting. Four practices will be randomly assigned to receive the new approach straight away (intervention group), while the other four practices will be assigned to the group who wait, deliver care as usual, and roll out the new approach after six months (wait-list-control group). After the new approach has been tested for six months, the research team will use staff questionnaires, and carry out focus groups and interviews with patients and practice staff to learn about their experiences. The time and resources needed to deliver the approach will also be recorded to estimate the cost of delivering the new approach and how feasible it would be to carry out a larger study.