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Egypt society backs new diabetic eye care

Cairo, April 2, 2013

The Egyptian Vitreotinal Society (EGVRS) has approved the groundbreaking treatment for diabetic macular edema (DME), a serious diabetic eye complication that, left untreated, can lead to deterioration of vision.

The announcement coincided with EGVRS’ young surgeons’ recent training on latest advances in precise retinal eye surgeries.

“We are extremely happy to share such important news. With the high prevalence of diabetes in Egypt, DME is a major concern and one of the most feared disease complications,” said Dr Magdy Moussa, professor of Opthalmology at Tanta University and Retina Consultant.

“DME is a consequence of diabetic retinopathy (DR), the most common diabetic eye complication. It is a leading cause of blindness in the working-age population in most developed countries. Visual impairment due to DME affects approximately 1-3 per cent of patients with diabetes,” he explained.

“Today, we celebrate a major medical leap; visual impairment is no longer an unavoidable consequence of diabetes,” added Dr Moussa. “While laser therapy, the current standard of care, has stabilized vision in many patients, it does not generally improve vision. Ranibizumab is the first licensed anti VEGF treatment, in the US, the EU and now in Egypt, to significantly improve both vision and vision-related quality of life in patients with visual impairment due to DME.”

“Ranibizumab is administered by injection and the procedure takes only a few minutes,” said Dr Moussa. “In the clinical trials, Ranibizumab-treated patients began to recover their vision as early as seven days after the first injection on average, and vision improvement was maintained at one year. On average, seven injections are administered in the first year, dropping to three to four in the second year.”

“It takes 10 to 15 years for a diabetes patient to develop DME,” said Dr Moussa. “Patients who have had diabetes for 10 years or longer are more likely to develop DME. Diabetics must closely monitor their blood glucose levels and go for regular eye screenings once every year for effective treatment and potentially, prevention,” Dr Moussa stressed. – TradeArabia News Service




Tags: DME | Egypt | Cairo | Diabetes |

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