Steroid implants to treat melanoma associated retinopathy

Scientists from the University of Surrey and Royal Surrey County Hospital have reported on a new approach to treating melanoma-associated retinopathy (MAR) in JAMA Ophthalmology.
 
With the support of Moorfields Eye Hospital’s electrophysiology department, the researchers investigated whether long acting steroid implants could improve vision in a 73-year-old patient with MAR.

Improvements in the vision of the patient were observed one week after treatment commenced.

The patient’s vision was monitored over a three-year period, with the patient’s 6/6 vision remaining stable.

Professor of ophthalmology at the University of Surrey, Simon Taylor, said that to his knowledge this is the first time that the vision of a patient with MAR has been treated and significantly improved with long acting steroid implants.

“This offers a possible alternative treatment option to patients whose quality of life is significantly reduced due to the symptoms of this debilitating ailment,” he said.

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