New medication for diabetes related blindness
Good news for Australia's one million diabetics: there's a new medication that can help improve eyesight.
But the best defence is still early detection, even though the health system can sometimes be frustrating and difficult to navigate. Seven News fans are encouraged to take Dr Andrew Rochford's survey to help make our health system better.
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One in three who have diabetes will face a serious eye problem. But the treatment available on the PBS is already saving sufferers from a lifetime of blindness.
It is the sense most of us take for granted but do not put under the medical spotlight nearly often enough.
Two years ago 49-year-old diabetic Briona Nikolic noticed a slight blurring in her vision, the first sign she was going blind.
Diabetics are 25 times more likely to suffer vision loss. It starts with a blurring in one or both eyes - an area of visual loss that can expand as the disease progresses.
Ms Nikolic’s sight was saved after taking part in a trial of new treatment called Lucentis, which has just been added to the pharmaceutical benefits scheme.
“It really made an instant impact, it made an improvement and I really think from then on it was easier, the whole journey battling this problem,” Ms Nikolic explains
Expert Professor Paul Mitchell said that early detection is the best defence.
“If we can get the disease at an early stage we've got a much better chance of preserving vision than if we are presented with the disease very late in its course.”
The value of early detection can not be underestimated but the health system can be frustrating. Seven News fans are encouraged to take this survey to help make our health system better.
Take the survey and share it with your friends and family.
