First Cape Cod Macular Degeneration Symposium To Be Held On September 17

Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Also Included In: Conferences
Article Date: 10 Sep 2009 - 3:00 PDT

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The latest research on macular degeneration, its causes, potential cures, current treatments and strategies for living well with it will be the focus of the first Cape Cod Macular Degeneration Symposium on September 17. A free public educational program, the symposium will take place from 9 am to noon at the Barnstable Senior Center, 825 Falmouth Road (Rt. 28) in Hyannis

Jointly sponsored by Schepens Eye Research Institute, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School (HMS), and Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston, the program will include a world-class scientist, a clinician and a patient who has lived with the disease for 30 years.

Nearly 10 million Americans suffer from age-related macular degeneration, which destroys the tiny center of the retina, known as the macula, along with central vision and a person's ability to read, drive, recognize faces and see details of any scene. The retina is a thin tissue at the back of the eye that transmits images from the outside world to the brain. The disease can be in a "dry" form caused by a build up of debris on the retina and a "wet" form caused by growth of abnormal blood vessels that leak into and damage the delicate retinal tissue.

Schepens senior scientist, Patricia A. D'Amore, PhD, will describe what is known about the causes of this devastating condition and some of the work the Institute is doing to find cures. D'Amore, who is also a professor at HMS, has devoted much of her career to investigating the relationship between blood vessel growth and eye disease and has contributed to the basic research that has led to new drugs such as Lucentis, which are effective in slowing the progression of the macular degeneration.

In her presentation, D'Amore will describe AMD and how the current therapies are working to slow disease progression and even restore vision. She will also review the Institute's focus on understanding how AMD develops and on efforts to treat, cure and ultimately prevent AMD.

Clinician David Liao, MD, PhD, a Vitreoretinal Specialist at Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston, will describe the most effective current therapies and what he hopes will be the most promising future therapies for AMD. Drugs such as Lucentis have revolutionized the treatment of wet macular degeneration. Promising new drugs are currently in clinical trials and may provide even more effective therapeutic options. Innovations are also being made in the treatment of dry macular degeneration.

Wrapping up the event will be Richard A. Godfrey, the patient liaison at Schepens and an MD sufferer himself, who will tell the story of his struggle with low vision and the strategies he has developed for living productively and happily, despite his central blindness.

Schepens Eye Research Institute is an affiliate of Harvard Medical School and the largest independent eye research institute in the nation. The Institute fights blindness by developing new technologies, therapies and knowledge to retain and restore vision. Through a continuum of discovery, the Institute works toward a future in which blindness is prevented, alleviated, and, ultimately, cured.

Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston (OCB) was founded in 1969 with the primary goal of providing patients with eye care, laser and surgical treatment of the highest quality. Their staff of 26 ophthalmologists cares for over 150,000 patients each year with all categories of eye disorders and visual system diseases. This level of care has earned Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston a national and international reputation for excellence.

Source: Schepens Eye Research Institute

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