A ray of hope for the blind!

“With this laser it’s been specifically designed so we don’t cause any damage to the light sensitive cells or to any cells,” he was quoted by ‘The Daily Telegraph’ as saying.

Prof Marshall said the treatment delayed the effect of ageing,a process he calls “retinal rejuvenation”,without damaging any other cells. “The treatment is really treating ageing,” he said.

In fact,the technique works by stimulating enzymes to remove waste material from a thin membrane behind the retina,called Bruch’s membrane.

Improvements to sight were reported after the treatment was used in a clinical trial involving more than 100 diabetics. And,a new trial will treat patients suffering from AMD in one eye with the aim of saving the sight in the better eye for as long as possible.

Prof Marshall said once people have advanced AMD in one eye,studies show the condition usually develops in the second eye in 18 months to three years. “If you can delay the onset by three,four,six,seven or 10 years,it’s proof of the principle.”

The surgeon said he hoped the treatment would be available within two to five years and one day people in their 40s who have a family history of AMD could choose to have the treatment as a way of preventing the onset of the condition.

“If you look to the age of 80 we all have a 30 percent chance probability that we will have some visual loss due to the ageing process even if we don’t have the AMD gene. All of us will ultimately lose vision if we live long enough. That’s why the impact of this rejuvenation is profound,” he said.