Applications invited to find best treatment options for a severe complication of AMD
Fight for Sight is collaborating with the European Society of Retina Specialists (EURETINA) to offer up to two million Euros (approx. £1.8 million) to find the best treatment option for sub-macular haemorrhage (SMH) a severe complication of certain retinal diseases.
SMH is caused by damage to the blood vessels in some retinal disease including neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD).. There are currently several treatment options which move the haemorrhage away from the macula, allowing surgeons to reach the back of the eye to deliver treatment. However there is currently no comparitive evidence to show which treatment option is the best.
The two million Euros will fund a clinical trial to compare the currently available treatment approaches and definitively address which treatment is the most effective.
Applications are being are invited from suitably qualified senior principal investigators with a track record in conducting and managing large multi-centre ophthalmology trials, with a deadline of 31 October 2018.
Fight for Sight’s chief executive, Michele Acton, said “Fight for Sight is dedicated to fight against age related macular degeneration, the leading cause of sight loss in the UK, which is why we are delighted to collaborate with EURETINA. Offering substantial funding to address a significant complication of the commonest cause of severe visual impairment in older adults is vital in order to give patients the best treatment option available.”
Fight for Sight recently launched a new research strategy which identified AMD as one of its four strategic programmes over the next five years. This will maximise the impact of research funding in the charity’s mission to stop sight loss.
In the major effort to address AMD, Fight for Sight have also recently partnered with three other sight loss charities (Blind Veterans, Macular Society and Scottish War Blinded) to form Action Against AMD (AAA), a collaboration to develop an intervention that prevents early stage AMD progressing to the point where people lose their sight.
Dr Gearoid Tuohy from Euretina, said: "EURETINA is delighted to launch this exciting clinical research initiative in an extremely important field of ophthalmic clinical care. Sub-macular haemorrhage is a sight-threatening complication of wet AMD, macroaneurysms or polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy and it is therefore critical that we support the necessary research to optimise the treatment of our patients.
EURETINA is a strong supporter of robust independent research as a key cornerstone for improving clinical outcomes. Our SMH clinical research initiative will ensure that the optimal treatment regimen is under-pinned by a professional and transparent level of evidence-based medicine. We look forward to receiving high-quality applications from experts in the field over the coming weeks, and to the eventual outcome of this important clinical research in due course”.
Click here for more information or to apply.