Eye on Ocular Health ReachMD

Host: Carl Regillo, MD

Guest: Jennifer I. Lim, MD, FARVO



What are the biomarkers that indicate dual targeting helps to reduce vascular leakage and suppress neovascularization? Join Dr. Carl Regillo and Dr. Jennifer Lim as they discuss the biomarkers of Ang-2 and VEGF-A suppression. Hear how to achieve earlier and faster fluid resolution in both neovascular age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema.

Guest: Durga Borkar, MD, MMCi

Guest: Diana Do, MD

Guest: Peter K. Kaiser, MD



The CME News Broadcast webinar will engage retina specialists and treating ophthalmologists with education needed to integrate the new durable anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapies for neovascular AMD (nAMD) into clinical practice. This will include recent data on the efficacy, safety, and durability of these new therapies and the imaging approaches that can be used to facilitate monitoring of nAMD disease progression and treatment success. This activity will create understanding of the new durable therapies and how they can extend dosing intervals. The expert faculty will discuss the latest data on new anti-VEGF therapies with the potential to reduce treatment burden and improve vision outcomes.

Host: Mary Katherine Cheeley, PharmD, BCPS, CLS, FNLA

Guest: Arghavan Almony, MD



The production of biosimilar therapies is setting the stage for a shift in how we approach treating patients with wet AMD, diabetic retinopathy, macular edema, and other retinal diseases, but many questions remain regarding how their efficacy and safety compare to the reference products and how we can best talk to our patients about these treatment options. To help shed light on these and other FAQs, Dr. Mary Katherine Cheeley speaks with Dr. Arghavan Almony, Adjunct Assistant Professor at Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine at Campbell University in North Carolina.

Host: Jennifer Caudle, DO

Guest: Anne Negrin, MD



Since eye issues are becoming increasingly common in patients with rheumatological conditions, it’s now more vital than ever that physicians are aware of their common symptoms. Joining Dr. Jennifer Caudle is Dr. Anne Negrin, an ophthalmologist in New York, to break down these symptoms and to focus on rheumatological concerns that ophthalmologists see in practice.

Host: Jennifer Caudle, DO

Guest: Jean Bennett, MD, PhD

Guest: Albert Maguire, MD



Power couple Drs. Jean Bennett and Albert Maguire discuss how their new therapy for the RPE65 gene, which causes retinal blindness, was recently approved by the FDA to become the first gene therapy treatment for a genetic disease in the United States and the first worldwide treatment for inherited blindness. Not only do they delve into the mechanics of the corrected gene injection, but they also explain what this milestone means for patient eligibility and how their marriage has played a role in the success of their research partnership.
Dr. Jean Bennett is the F.M. Kirby Professor of Ophthalmology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Albert Maguire is a Professor of Ophthalmology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Attending Physician in the Division of Pediatric Ophthalmology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

[Read the Article]
Proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) is a leading cause of vision loss in patients with diabetes, resulting in up to 24,000 cases of blindness each year in the United States. Laser therapy has been the most common treatment used to help reduce severe vision loss, but the procedure has many side effects including permanent loss of peripheral vision and swelling of the retina.

A group of researchers from across the US tested an alternative treatment using an injectable medication called ranibizumab, to see if it would be as effective as the laser therapy. They studied more than 300 patients with PDR, assigning them to either receive standard laser therapy or an injection into the eye. In total, they treated close to 400 eyes.

Outcomes, especially loss of vision, were compared at two years. Over the two year period, researchers found that patients receiving the injections of medication had fewer side effects and did somewhat better in terms of vision loss than those who received laser therapy.
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