Eye :: NHS to reconsider eye drug for AMD

An NHS trust – Primary Care Trust (PCT) – which refused to fund a drug for a former Halifax MP who is losing her sight has announced it will review its decision.

Alice Mahon, 69, threatened to take Calderdale Primary Care Trust (PCT) to the High Court over its refusal to fund a drug which could help her condition. She is nearly blind in one eye due to wet age-related macular degeneration.

Wet AMD occurs when new blood vessels behind the retina start to grow toward the macula. Because these new blood vessels tend to be very fragile, they will often leak blood and fluid under the macula. This causes rapid damage to the macula that can lead to the loss of central vision in a short period of time.

While loss of vision cannot be reversed, early detection is important because treatments are available that may halt or slow the progression of the wet form of ARMD.


Leave a Comment