What: The annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology When: May 7-11 Where: Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD (1 W. Pratt St. Baltimore, MD 21201)
****EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 2:30 PM EST ON MAY 8 ****
Update on Treatments for Diabetic Retinopathy: Clinically Relevant Results from the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network
Where: Ballroom 2
When: 2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Neil Bressler, M.D., professor of ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and co-authors will present new research on the cost-effectiveness of two methods of treatment for proliferative diabetic retinopathy. The study, titled “Cost-effectiveness of Intravitreous Ranibizumab Compared with Panretinal Photocoagulation for Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy,” set out to compare panretinal (laser) photocoagulation and intravitreous ranibizumab, of which a previous study suggested could be a reasonable alternative treatment to slow the growth of abnormal blood vessels on the surface of the retina from diabetes, causing blindness, if left untreated. However, ranibizumab injections are costly, so this new study was planned to examine the relative cost-effectiveness of these two treatment options.
Bressler and his team compared intravitreous ranibizumab and panretinal photocoagulation over two years and found it to be cost-effective for patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy paired with vision-impairing diabetic macular edema (swelling of the center of the retina), but the cost was much higher for diabetic retinopathy patients without diabetic macular edema.
The study will be available at 2:30 p.m. EST on May 8 in JAMA Ophthalmology.
**** EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 2:30 P.M. EDT ON MAY 8 ****
Update on Treatments for Diabetic Retinopathy: Clinically Relevant Results from the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network
Where: Ballroom 2
When: 2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Neil Bressler, M.D., professor of ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and co-authors will report on an ongoing study of the use of ranibizumab to treat proliferative diabetic retinopathy. The study, titled “Interim Safety Data Comparing Ranibizumab with Panretinal Photocoagulation among Participants with Diabetic Retinopathy,” reviews data from a monitoring meeting of about 90 percent of active trial participants completing their 4-year visits. The Data and Safety Monitoring Committee noted a trend toward increased risk of stroke, heart attack, vascular deaths or deaths from unknown causes among participants assigned ranibizumab compared with those undergoing panretinal photocoagulation treatment.
The study will be available at 2:30 p.m. EST on May 8 in JAMA Ophthalmology, and a full report is planned upon completion of the 5-year follow-up in 2018.
Neil Bressler is also available to comment on the “Study of Comparative Treatments for Retinal Vein Occlusion (SCORE2): Primary Results. The study compared aflibercept to its generic form, bevacizumab, for central retinal or hemi-retinal vein occlusion with macular edema. Bressler wrote the editorial in JAMA on the trial results, publishing at 2:30 p.m. EST on May 9.
**** EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 P.M. EST ON MAY 8 ****
Where: Room 308
When: 4 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Poor Balance, Visual Field Damage and Falls in Glaucoma
Regina de Luna, a student at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine studying under Pradeep Ramulu, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute, will present her research on the relationship between balance and falls in glaucoma patients. The research group collected data from 233 glaucoma patients to evaluate whether balance accounts for the association between vision loss from glaucoma and falls.
The researchers found that both balance and vision loss were found to independently predict falls, suggesting that variables other than balance may account for the increased rate of falls in glaucoma patients.
**** EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 3:45 P.M. EST ON MAY 9 ****
Where: Room 309
When: 4:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Refractive Error: Risk Factors to Intervention Studies
Lucy Mudie, M.B.B.S., M.P.H., a postdoctoral research fellow at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute, will present the results of the Baltimore Reading and Eye Disease Study (BREDS), a project that provides eye exams and eyeglasses to students in Baltimore City public schools. The study, titled “Spectacle Correction and Reading Ability in a School-Based Vision Study in Inner-City Baltimore,” suggests that uncorrected hyperopia is associated with reading difficulty in children and that corrective lenses could be essential to promoting academic achievement.
Of 317 students included in the study, more than half of students who needed glasses did not have them before BREDS. The program was successful in improving visual acuity and reading scores in students who participated in BREDS.
**** EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 8:33 A.M. EST ON MAY 10 ****
Where: Room 309
When: 8:33 a.m. – 8:53 a.m.
Vision and Cognition Factors for Poor Driving Performance in Older Populations
Sheila West, Ph.D., Pharm.D., professor of ophthalmology and vice chair for research at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute, will present her research at a mini-symposium reviewing research on vision and driving using a variety of approaches. Her research gathered data from 1425 older drivers in Salisbury, Maryland and examined the relationship of multiple vision and cognitive conditions to the subjects’ poor driving performance and decisions to stop driving. Her research found that while visual acuity was generally good in the subjects, poor driving performance was not uncommon, showing that assessments of fitness to drive need to address the importance of specific cognitive skills in addition to vision.
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