Dr. Frenkel has been recognized by Reuters Health Information for his work on Eye-Pressure-Lowering drugs and Intravitreal Injections.
Dr. Ronald Frenkel has been recognized by Reuters Health Information for his research findings regarding eye-pressure-lowering drugs and intravitreal injections. In a new study, Dr. Frenkel and colleagues have found that medicated eye drops that are used to offset pressure spikes inside the eye have no effect on the pressure caused by intravitreal injections. Based on the finding, Dr. Frenkel recommends that doctors stop using such drops and medications in conjunction with intravitreal injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor drugs for patients with age-related macular degeneration, but with some exceptions. These findings were also published in the December archives of Ophthalmology.
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Dr. Ronald Frenkel helps new drug get FDA approved for patients to recover their eyesight!
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Dr. Frenkel Co-Authors Chapter in, The Glaucoma Book, on the Changes and Developments in Monitoring Fluid Pressure in the Eye.
Glaucoma, the leading cause of blindness in the United States, is a disease of the optic nerve caused by increased fluid pressure in the eye. The only known and widely accepted treatment for glaucoma is the lowering of the fluid pressure, through the use of medications or surgery. Each medication used to treat glaucoma is unique, with different peak times of lowering pressure. Doctors typically measure the efficacy of the medications during office work hours, three or four times a year. The problem is that “these measurements provide only a snapshot of a parameter that is known to change significantly over hours, minutes, and even seconds….These isolated measurements...do not provide a complete picture of the state of the patient.”
The current methods of measuring eye fluid pressure limit the ability of doctors to treat glaucoma. For doctors to properly treat patients: it is essential for them to have devices that will not only accurately measure fluid eye pressure, but that will do so overtime.
Through accurate measures, multiple factors can be documented and analyzed, including: a patients’ baseline fluid pressure and fluctuations. In having comprehensive data spanning overtime, the relationship between multiple factors, including: blood pressure, pulse and eye fluid pressure, can be studied in depth. The benefits of continuously measuring fluid eye pressure will result in the ability of doctors to better guide treatment.
Attempts at creating devices that continuously measures fluid pressure are still under development, but it is certain that the technique must be able to take measurements quickly enough to capture the dynamic behavior. Although home tonometers have been designed (including a self-use model), they present several drawbacks that include: the possibility for complications to the cornea, patients unwillingness to constantly repeat measurements, and potential for inaccuracy.
Currently, there are various implantable monitoring devices under development. A wireless sensor has been created that can be implanted into the iris of the eye. Contact lenses are being developed that can detect changes in the curve of the eye within the cornea due to increased pressure. We are currently working on an implantable device that transmits data to an external probe and stores information for up to 30 days. The data can be electronically transferred to a physicians office through the use of a phone line or internet.
“There is no doubt that when we have such a device it will fundamentally change our understanding of IOP [fluid pressure], and the diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma.”
Frenkel, R.E.P., Haji, S., Frenkel, MPC. Continuous Monitoring of Intraocular Pressure. The Glaucoma Book, in Press Springer, New York, NY, 2010. In, Schacknow, PN and Samples, JR (Editors), The Glaucoma Book, NY, NY, Springer Scientific, pp.59-64, 2010
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At the Association for Rsearch in Vision and Ophthalmology annual meeting, Dr. Frenkel and collegues presented their advances in the treatment of Dry and Wet macular degeneration.
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