Drug to Restore Eyesight
Canadian researchers have come up with a drug that can obstruct the leading cause of blindness. Ontario boasts of a drug called “lucentis”, which is injected into the eye to prevent and repair the leaking blood vessels behind the retina.
Wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), is considered to be the largest leading cause of blindness. The Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB), a non-profit rehabilitation agency, claims that about 2,294 people living in the Quinte area (Canada) are visually impaired due to the wet AMD.
The lucentis injection costs about $1500 per treatment and about 12 are needed to treat people suffering from wet AMD. This sure is an expensive treatment and not all Canadians are able to avail this treatment because of the high costs of the treatment.
Nevertheless, the drug’s efficacy led Toronto’s health minister, George Smitherman, announce the coverage of all aging people above 50 years who were bound to suffer from wet AMD. Toronto, lying on the shores of Lake Ontario, is home to about 2 million people alone and is one of North America’s most promising regions.
Lisa Pretty, from the CNIB said that, now that that all aging people were going to be covered under the lucentis treatment, there was hope for restoring vision in many. Therefore, inspite of Lucentis being an expensive treatment, it has become a “go-word” for almost everyone.