Tracy Price, a resident of Sevier County, Tenn., suffered from diabetic macular edema (DME), a potentially blinding side effect of the diabetes. Blood vessels in the retina of Price’s retina were leaking into the macula, the part of the eye that provides detailed central vision.
The bleeding would not stop. Luckily, Price’s ophthalmologist at Southeastern Retina Associates, John Hoskins, M.D., was involved in a nationwide clinical trial of the drug Lucentis. Only when Price joined the trial and received the treatment did she improve.
Price has lived with diabetes for more than 40 years, and DME had progressively distorted her vision. Laser surgery, the standard treatment for the condition, had failed to provide lasting results. After a number of months, Price would suffer another leak in her retina.
The Lucentis treatment involves injecting the drug into the eye. Price, who began routine injections in 2012 when the drug was approved by the FDA, has received 60 injections in both eyes.
Price is pleased with the results. “It has kept me driving, it has kept my quality of life, it’s kept me working,” she told local TV station WATE. Dr. Hoskins rates her vision “excellent” in one eye and “reasonable” in the other.