New Single Dose Enzyme

An Amercian woman suffering from the eye condition symptomatic vitreomacular adhesion ( VMA) has undergone a new treatment to assist in delaying the potential distortion of her vision and eventual blindness.

The non-surgical treatment takes the form of an injected drug directly to the eye and is a prescripted single dose treatment. The treatment was undertaken by eye doctors in Fort Myers Retina Health Centre. Her condition is relatively uncommon, given that two hundred and fifty thousand in the states well receive the diagnosis in a year.

Previously, surgery was the only option for patients diagnosed with VMA, now the arrival of ' Jetrea ' is hoping to ease the stress of suspected surgery for sufferers.
Patients eyes are fully anesthetized prior to the injection and feel no discomfort and certainly no pain throughout the treatment.

VMA is a condition where the macula begins to pull away from the jelly in the centre of  the eye. As the macula is responsible for reading vision, most patients will notice initially distorted vision. It is quite common in the over fifties. Jetrea is an injected enzyme that will help to break down the proteins found in the eye, relieving the pressure to the fibres that cause the degeneration. It was developed by ThromboGenics a Belgian firm who recorded that it had been effective in 26 per cent of patients with VMA that were treated with just one dose. Within six months 41 per cent of the trail patients who responded were seeing an improvement in the reading chart records, by at least two lines on their initial test. Overall, it has proven successful with just under sixty percent of all participants with macular holes.