Retina
Diseases of the retina are the leading causes for blindness in the middle-aged and elderly in developed countries.
Diabetic Retinopathy is the leading cause for blindness in adults. This condition should be monitored continuously through your ophthalmologist in order to detect treatable pathologies at an early stage before symptoms occur. Treatment options are: Laser 532µm wavelength green light or anti-VEGF / steroids injections into the eye. Severe cases with proliferation can lead to bleeding into the eye cavity. In case of bleeding into the eye, a vitrectomy (cutting out the gel from inside the eye) with subsequent laser treatment can be performed.
Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause for blindness in people above the age of 60. Age-related macular degeneration is classified into dry and wet forms. More than 85% of the cases are dry and therefore mild to moderate and about 15% are wet and therefore severe. Proven treatments exist for the wet form of age-related macular degeneration. These include: anti-VEGF therapy (injections into the eye), Laser treatment and Photodynamic therapy. There is no proven treatment for the dry form of age-related macular degeneration, however as stated by the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS), taking a specific amount of vitamins and minerals can reduce the risk of progression from the intermediate form into the severe and wet form.
At the Berlin Eye Clinic patients with any form of retina disease are diagnosed and followed-up with Spectralis HRA and OCT. Spectralis HRA and OCT. delivers the best in comprehensive diagnostic assessment of the retina with Fluorescein Angiography, Blue laser Autofluorescence, and red-free, infrared and spectral-domain Optical Coherence Tomography. The unique blue laser Autofluorescence known as Bluepeak offers a non-invasive assessment of retina integrity delivering the pathway for monitoring progression and future treatment modalities of dry Age-related macular degeneration.