Eyes of the world focus on study

PATIENTS in West Yorkshire are helping researchers in their quest to learn more about a debilitating eye condition.

The Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust is taking part in major national and international studies into the treatment of glaucoma.

It is hoped that the research will offer experts key insights into the condition which is the leading cause of irreversible blindness throughout the world.

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The results of the pioneering studies will provide researchers with valuable information about how to treat the millions of people who suffer from glaucoma.

The Trust is one of only 11 in the UK which is taking part in the UK Glaucoma Treatment Study (UKGTS), headed by the Moorfields Eye Hospital in London.

It is only the second study ever carried out on early glaucoma, and aims to identify those patients who are likely to benefit from treatment, and whether treatment is necessary for all patients.

From a UK target of 500 patients, a total of 12 local people have been recruited to take part in the study.

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Each person is randomised to receive either active or inactive eye drops treatment.

The study monitors the effects for two years.

The Trust is also among 16 UK and eight East Asian sites taking part in a major international study.

The Effectiveness of Cataract Extraction in Angle-closure Glaucoma – Eagle – study, is being hosted by the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust in association with researchers from the University of Aberdeen.

The aim of this study – which is being funded by the Medical Research Council – is to find out whether removing the lens of the eye and replacing it with a synthetic alternative is a better form of treatment than laser surgery and drops.

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Consultant ophthalmologist at the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, Mr Nitin Anand, is leading the research locally.

Mr Anand said: "We are delighted to be taking part in two pioneering studies.

"The results will give us valuable information about the treatment of glaucoma, and I would like to thank all patients involved in the trials."

The Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust's research and development department secured a research grant from the West Yorkshire local comprehensive research network to fund the studies.

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The Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust's medical director, Dr Yvette Oade said: "Taking part in the trials is a great endorsement of Mr Anand's renowned expertise in glaucoma and the excellent reputation of our ophthalmology department."

Glaucoma is the medical term used to describe a group of eye conditions characterised by damage to the optic nerve within the eye, resulting in loss of visual field.

This process is very gradual and is usually associated with a higher than normal pressure within they eye, known as intraocular pressure or IOP.

There are two main types of glaucoma: open-angle glaucoma and angle-closure glaucoma.

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Open-angle glaucoma comes on gradually and there are no warning symptoms until there has been considerable damage to the optic nerve and associated loss of visual field

Angle-closure glaucoma is much more sudden in onset and produces severe symptoms

Glaucoma is found in about two per cent of the population aged over 40.

With more than 70 million people affected by the condition around the world, the impact of the studies could be far reaching.

Approximately 500,000 people are affected by glaucoma in England and Wales.