ONE MAN ’ S LIFE IS CHANGED
Dr . Rosa is involved in several clinical trials related to AMD . One trial seeks to determine whether a vitamin supplement will reduce , slow or stop the progress of dry AMD . Dr . Rosa says Scott & White is one of 90 centers participating in the five-year study , sponsored by the National Eye Institute of the NIH . The study is about halfway finished . “ We ’ re hoping in the next two to three years to be able to report on the effect of vitamin supplementation with lutein , zeaxanthin and omega-3 fatty acids on the progression of dry AMD ,” he says .
Dr . Rosa recently received funding from the Scott & White Research Grants Program to study the potential role of adult stem cells ( harvested from the bone marrow ) to treat retinal degeneration — in particular , dry AMD . Dr . Rosa is working with a team of scientific investigators who are experts in adult mesenchymal stem cell research led by Darwin J . Prockop , MD , PhD , the director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the Texas A & M Health Science Center College of Medicine in Temple , TX . “ The goal of this ongoing research is to develop new treatments to prevent vision loss and to restore vision in our patients suffering from macular degeneration and other forms of retinal degeneration ,” says Dr . Rosa .
Another clinical trial , an international study that Scott & White is participating in that is funded by the pharmaceutical company QLT , Inc ., involves combination therapy for wet AMD . The purpose of this study is to determine whether combination therapy including injections of Lucentis ® and dexamethasone ( a steroid ) into the vitreous chamber of the eye and photodynamic therapy (“ cold laser ” treatments ) with Visudyne can maintain or improve vision outcomes and reduce the frequency of eye injections compared to therapy with Lucentis alone .
Lucentis also is central to another national clinical trial that Scott & White has joined . Sponsored by the medicine ’ s manufacturer , Genentech , the three-year study will show whether Lucentis can effectively treat macular edema caused by diabetes . This study also is halfway through the trial period , says Dr . Rosa .
Participation in such clinical trials , along with scientific research being conducted at the Ophthalmic Vascular Research Laboratory and the Institute for Regenerative Medicine with the Texas A & M Health Science Center College of Medicine , demonstrates the Scott & White Eye Institute ’ s dedication to care for the vital sense of vision . “ So many things that we do on a daily basis involve our vision ,” he says , “ and if our vision were not up to par , we ’ d be different creatures .”
Dr . Fulcher says patients know this , so they treasure their vision . “ If you talk to any patient , if you asked them what their most important sense is , the most valuable , they ’ ll say eyesight ,” he says . “ It ’ s number one in my mind , and in the minds of patients .” ■
Dr . Fulcher also is an assistant professor of surgery , Texas A & M Health Science Center College of Medicine .
Dr . Rosa also is a professor of surgery , Texas A & M Health Science Center College of Medicine .
ONE MAN ’ S LIFE IS CHANGED
“ The decision to have lens replacement surgery is not one you take lightly , so after I ’ d done all my research , the bottom line was that the pendulum kept swinging back to Scott & White ,” says patient Steve Fallon , age 56 , executive director of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame , in Waco , TX .
Patients who need lens replacement surgery often have difficulty with closeup reading , and Mr . Fallon was no exception . “ I couldn ’ t read my watch , couldn ’ t shave , couldn ’ t see a thing ,” he says . Calvin Eshbaugh , MD , director of the Division of Refractive Surgery at the Scott & White Eye Institute , required that Mr . Fallon undergo a series of tests to ensure that he was an appropriate candidate for the surgery , which was performed on both eyes in 2008 .
“ It has totally changed my life ,” says Mr . Fallon . “ Right after surgery , I could read my watch again for the first time in 20 years . I trusted Scott & White and they didn ’ t let me down .”
sw . org | Fall 09 THE CATALYST 11