Judi Dench has AMD

Oscar-winning actress Judi Dench has been diagnosed with aged-related macular degeneration and is battling to save her sight. The 77-year-old, who made her name in several James Bond films, said she is unable to read scripts anymore. She is believed to be one of the few global household names who have revealed that they suffer from macular degeneration.

But the British star said she is determined not to let the condition beat her and hopes recent treatment has stopped the progressive decline. She confessed: “I can’t read scripts any more because of the trouble with my eyes. And so somebody comes in and reads them to me, like telling me a story.

"It’s usually my daughter or my agent or a friend and actually I like that, because I sit there and imagine the story in my mind. I’ve got what my ma had, macular degeneration, which you get when you get old.

"I had wet in one eye and dry in the other and they had to do these injections and I think it’s arrested it. I hope so.”

Click here to read the full original story by the Daily Mirror. More by the Guardian and Daily Mail.

Sharing session - The Three Tips

The fight against macular degeneration is often a lonely process. But it gets better when you are able to pick the brains of others on how to cope. And in our view, the greatest treasure trove of information lies within us - the members of MDS. Come join us in a sharing session among members on your three best tips to live with macular degeneration.

There is no right or wrong answer. There is no good or bad answer too. Your tips can be on anything, ranging from medicinal to exercises, from technology to household changes, from how to connect with a doctor to the best way to get back home after a check-up. In short, it can be on ANYTHING.

What we take for granted in our own struggles with macular degeneration is very likely not familiar to others. And it could make a big difference in all our lives when we share and pick up these unknown "personal strategies".

Date: Feb 11, 2012 (Sat)
Time: 2pm - 4pm
Venue: All For Eyes shop, Tanglin Shopping Centre, 19 Tanglin Road, #05-23, Spore 247909

 Call Anne at 6238-7387, or e-mail alleyes@singnet.com.sg to reserve your places now for our first event of 2012!

This event is free for all MDS members. If you know of someone who you feel might benefit from joining our circle, please invite them, just let us know in advance.

REMINDER for members, please arrange to pay your membership fees ($20 for 2 years) if you haven't done so.

Stem cell retinal implants safe

Early results from the world's first human trial using embryonic stem cells to treat diseases of the eye suggest the method is safe, say researchers. US firm Advanced Cell Technology told The Lancet how two patients who had received the retinal implants were doing well, four months on.

Trials of the same technique have now started at London's Moorfields Eye Hospital. But experts say it will be years before these treatments are proven. The aim of these first human studies is to establish that the treatment is safe to use. 

Click here to read the full BBC story. More details here from Reuters.

The man who taught himself to see

This is an amazing inspirational story to round off the year. Daniel Kish has been sightless since he was a year old. Yet he can mountain bike. And navigate the wilderness alone. And recognize a building as far away as 1,000 feet. How? The same way bats can see in the dark.

Click here to read the full article. It is a long piece, but well worth your time. 

Merry Christmas and Happy 2012!

Eylea approved in US

The United States has approved the use of Eylea, a new drug to treat age-related macular degeneration. It adds an important new weapon to the ongoing battle against the eye disease. 

Eylea is similar to the other two main drugs in the market, Lucentis and Macugen. It inhibits a factor that makes unwanted blood vessels grow in the retina. The blood vessels can leak blood and fluid, causing damage to the retina. Eylea blocks all forms of this factor, called VEGF, and also blocks a second similar factor.

But compared to Lucentis and Macugen, Eylea requires fewer injections and is hence cheaper for patients. Lucentis is given once every month, although some patients may need treatment only once every three months. Macugen is given every six weeks. Eylea is given once every two months after three once-a-month injections. All three of these drugs are given by injection into the eye with a tiny needle.

In clinical trials, Eylea has worked as well as Lucentis. But the drug can cause some side effects. In clinical trials, the most common were bleeding in the white part of the eye at the site of injection, eye pain, cataracts, detachment of the gel part of the eye (vitreous) from the retina, floating spots in the vision, and increased pressure within the eye.

Wondrous paths of Botanic Gardens

By Sharon Siddique
MDS President

About 30 of our “regular” MDSers gathered at the Botany Centre, Green Pavilion for our annual outing on Nov 5. At 10am we were offered a fascinating tour of “Edible and Medicinal Plants, which was conducted by Botanic Garden staff.

They were so well informed, that we all picked up numerous bits of information – rather than walking through “trees and bushes”, we actually were introduced to them, and I don’t think any of us will again walk through the garden ignorant of how dependent we are upon these many “edible and medicinal” plants.

To give just a few examples:

We were introduced to a nutmeg tree – fascinating to see the flowers, the fruits, and to actually see the connection to the tree itself. Now nutmeg has much more meaning than powder in a spice bottle! Or the introduction to a kaffir limebush (limau purut in Malay). The pungent leaf is so familiar to anyone who cooks or indulges in Southeast Asian dishes, but to break off a fresh one for a smell was quite an experience.

Question: And did you know the difference between wild and cultivated bananas?

Answer: wild banana bunches grow down, while cultivated ones grow up.

Multiply these insights by 100, and you have some idea of what knowledge we acquired. Our one and a half hour tour wound around the wondrous paths, ending up at the ginger garden, our next-to-last edible stop. We then retired to the benches outside the Orchid Pavilion for a VERY edible, delicious box lunch, and welcome drinks. (Yes, it was HOT!) We wrapped up at 12pm, with loads of good fellowship, and much food for thought.

For those of you who missed this tour, we would highly recommend it. The tours run every first Saturday of each month, - one at 9am and another at 10am.

They are free of charge, and you can sign up on the spot at the Green Pavilion at the Botany Centre, near the main Holland Road entrance. In addition we found lots of other tours and classes offered on the Botanic Garden website, so those of you who would like to follow-up, you can do so.

We will be holding our next MDS meeting in February 2012, after Chinese New Year, which falls on the Jan 23-24. We wish all MDSers a very happy holiday season, and don’t forget to check the website, blog or facebook for updates and informative entries. Look forward to seeing you all next year!

Phone check-ups for cataract

The Straits Times

Nov 5, 2011

By Fiona Low

Patients recovering from cataract surgery could be given follow-up consultations over the telephone under an initiative by Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Its eye centre is exploring ways to cut the number of return visits by those who have had the operation.

The idea is to make life more convenient for patients, who will be spared a journey, and free up doctors to focus on more complicated cases. Only patients whose surgery had gone without a hitch and who are deemed to be at low risk of complications are eligible for phone consultations.

Trained nurses will call them and go through a list of eight questions designed to check they are recovering smoothly and are free of problems such as infections. The initiative follows a successful pilot study in 2009. Phone consultations have been used to follow up cataract surgery in places such as the United States and Europe. However, this is the first time the system has been implemented here.

Patients who undergo the operation normally have to return to the hospital for three follow-up visits. The first is the day after surgery, the next is a week later and the third is a month after that. The phone consultations replace only the first visit. Dr Wong Hon Tym, head of the hospital’s ophthalmology department, said the questionnaire used by nurses is a safe way to pick up complications because they are usually easy to identify. Signs include obvious pain, blurry vision and redness in the eye.

Cataracts occur when the crystalline lens in the eye becomes cloudy, blurring the patient’s vision. The surgery involves removing it and replacing it with an artificial lens. Seven of the hospital’s 26 consultants routinely use phone consultations with their patients, and there are plans for all to do so eventually. Cataract surgery is the most commonly performed operation in the department. It is carried out on between 4,000 and 6,000 patients a year.

By the time the programme is implemented fully, about 1,000 10-minute clinic slots will be saved in a year. The eye centre is also looking into using telemedicine to reduce the number of follow-up visits by cataract patients. 

This means that instead of returning to the hospital, they can go to an optometrist at a polyclinic instead. Pictures and videos are taken of the eye and sent to the consultant at the hospital, who then conducts the check remotely.

Findings from a pilot study of the technique this year have been encouraging. It found that advances in technology mean the transmitted images are nearly as clear as if the doctor was examining the patient in the flesh. Telemonitoring is intended to be used with the patient’s third follow-up visit. Dr Wong said that although larger studies are needed, the promising data indicates that in future, post-operation visits will be carried out in a non-hospital setting.

fionalow@sph.com.sg