The study corroborates findings from research published earlier this year showing that high levels of lutein and zeaxanthin were each associated with an approximately 40% reduction in the risk of cataract.

This research further highlights the critical role played by lutein and zeaxanthin in promoting eye health.

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An initial pilot study of the device demonstrated efficacy with results presented at ARVO in May 2011 (view detailed results here).

Presently, plans are underway for expanded studies at 20 medical centers around the world to further evaluate the effectiveness and the safety of the EYEOP1 device to treat glaucoma. One recently announced such study will be conducted at the Sam Rothberg Glaucoma Center of the Goldschleger Eye Institute at Sheba Medical Center in Israel (click here to learn more about the study at this location).

The primary objective of these studies is to demonstrate reduction of baseline IOP by more than 20% in participating patients after 12 months.

Ten subjects will be enrolled to receive 150 mg Canakinumab (ILARIS®) by subcutaneous injection. Beginning on day 0, each subject will receive a subcutaneous injection of study drug every 8 weeks for 16 weeks, a total of 3 injections. All subjects will undergo regular follow-up assessments every 8 weeks through 24 weeks. Fluorescein angiography (FA) will be repeated every 8 weeks. The primary outcome being sought is the regression of retinal neovascularizations by week 24.

Key secondary outcomes sought include regression of diabetic macular edema, and change in best-corrected visual acuity.

Click here to learn more about this study.

There were slightly more adverse events in those patients using Avastin than Lucentis, but the study’s authors concluded that the differences were not specifically associated with the use of Avastin, but more likely due to the age of the subjects in the study – a median age of 80 years.

For more details, please see the complete writeup at the following link.

To read more, please follow this link.

Bascom Palmer, one of the country’s premier eye institutes, joins UCLA’s Jules Stein Eye Institute and the Wills Eye Institute as the third U.S. site participating in the company’s Phase I/II clinical trials.

The Phase I/II trial is a prospective, open-label study designed to determine the safety and tolerability of the hESC-derived RPE cells following sub-retinal transplantation into patients with dry AMD. The trial will ultimately enroll 12 patients, with cohorts of three patients each in an ascending dosage format.

Click here to learn more about patient eligibility to participate in the trials.

To read more about the trials, please follow this link.

The company then announced that it had received authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a Phase I/II clinical trial of the company’s proprietary HuCNS-SCr product candidate (purified human neural stem cells) in dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common form of AMD.

We believe that at least one of the sites for the clinical trial will be the Casey Eye Institute at Oregon Health and Science University.

To read the complete story, please follow this link.

The results have been published in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

To read the full story, please follow this link.

The trial is aimed at patients with Usher Syndrome Type 1B, a form or retinitis pigmentosa that leads to blindness and hearing loss.

There is currently no treatment for this disease.

Based on laboratory pre-clinical studies, the researchers believe that a single UshStat treatment may last for several years, and perhaps for a lifetime.

In addition, Oxford BioMedica issued an update on all of its ophthalmic gene therapy programs, as part of its year-end report.

To read the full article, please follow this link.

This past week, an analysis of the health records of more than 75,000 women presented at the American Glaucoma Society 22nd Annual Meeting, demonstrated that heavy coffee drinking may increase the risk of developing exfoliation glaucoma (EG).

Lead investigator Louis Pasquale, associate professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, explained that rrevious randomized trials have indicated that homocysteine levels, a risk factor for coronary disease, are increased after coffee consumption, and that patients with exfoliation glaucoma have elevated homocysteine in the aqueous humor and tears.

Click here to read more.