New treatment restores eyesight in patient

An innovative treatment has improved the vision of a 73-year-old patient suffering from melanoma-associated retinopathy (MAR), a rare auto-immune cancer-related syndrome that can cause night blindness and progressive vision loss.

New research in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology was conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Surrey and Royal Surrey County Hospital who investigated if long acting steroid implants injected into the eye could improve vision.

The implants slowly release fluocinolone acetonide, a corticosteroid, into the eye which prevent anti-retinal antibodies attacking proteins in the organ.

Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Surrey Simon Taylor, said: ‘To our knowledge, this is the first time the vision of a patient with melanoma-associated retinopathy has been treated and significantly improved with long acting steroid implants.’