22 October 2009

Funding boost to researchers investigating glaucoma

Researchers at the University of Sheffield are set to develop new diagnostic techniques for patients developing glaucoma, thanks to a $50,000 cash boost from the Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration.

The team of researchers at the University´s School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences will use new high resolution imaging equipment to evaluate new and discomfort-free ways to make a reliable diagnosis.

The news comes within World Blindness Awareness Month, which aims to raise awareness of the conditions that can lead to blindness or impaired vision, ways to prevent this, and resources for those who are visually impaired.

Dr Raymond Harrison, a graduate of the University of Sheffield, who is now living in New York and working as an ophthalmologist specialising in glaucoma, proved vital in securing the funding, due to his close work with researchers at the University.

Glaucoma, which is an eye disease that damages the optic nerve and impairs vision, can be a secondary problem stemming from acute or chronic uveitis – a painful inflammation of the eye. Gonioscopy, the usual technique for evaluating the mechanisms leading to the development of glaucoma, involves contact with the surface of the eye, making it uncomfortable and difficult to perform for patients with uveitis.

As a result, Professor Ian Rennie, Head of the Academic Unit of Ophthalmology and Orthoptics at the University, will use the donation to fund a study aimed at making advances in glaucoma diagnostics in a special group of patients. The study will take place using a high resolution Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) imaging machine.

Members of the University´s Academic Unit of Ophthalmology and Orthoptics, who already provide the Uveitis Service at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital and undertake specialised clinics in the management of patients suffering from this condition, will then conduct a clinical research programme to evaluate the effectiveness of this new approach.

Professor Ian Rennie, Head of the Academic Unit of Ophthalmology and Orthoptics at the University of Sheffield, said: "I am delighted by the news of this generous donation. It will enable me to investigate a new and novel method of the problem of uveitic glaucoma, which hopefully will provide a greater insight into the mechanisms of this condition.

"In turn, this should provide us with a more effective and less uncomfortable method of assessing patients with this troublesome condition."

Notes for Editors: For more information about supporting research in Sheffield, please contact Miles Stevenson, Director of Development: miles.stevenson@sheffield.ac.uk or telephone 0114 222 1071.

For more information on the Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration, visit the link below.

For further information please contact: Shemina Davis, Media Relations Officer, on 0114 2225339 or email shemina.davis@sheffield.ac.uk

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