by Judy Prevost
An experimental study using Proton Beam Radiation Therapy opened at the Loma Linda Medical Center in March 1994 to treat the Wet form of Macular Degeneration. According to James Slater, M.D., "Proton therapy is the most precise form of advanced radiation treatment available for certain cancers and other diseases, yet it minimizes or alleviates harm to surrounding tissues."
The Center reports that the results, to date, are encouraging and that no patients have suffered immediate visual loss after the treatment. They also report that, with the current radiation dose level, 90% of the patients have shown improvement in blood vessel lesions, and after that the average loss of vision was zero after 21 months of follow-up.
Proton Therapy is a non-surgical treatment that takes about one minute. Patients receive the painless treatment on an out-patient basis, and are able to continue living their normal lives with almost no side effects.
The Proton Treatment Center uses high energy proton particles to deliver a beam with surgical precision to a specified spot in the eye. The treatment costs between four and six thousand dollars.
So far, there has been no definitive scientific proof attesting to the success of Proton Beam Therapy, but it does look promising as a possible alternate form of treatment.
For more information, see:
www.llu.edu/proton
www.protons.com
Proton Eye Beam Irradiation
1-(800)-PROTONS
Loma Linda Medical Center
11234 Anderson Street
California 92354
Tel: (909) 558-4000
Physician Referral: (800) 872-1212
Additional centers now offering proton beam therapy are listed below. These are clinical studies. You may want to ask your retinal specialist to refer you to one of these programs if you are not eligible for other therapies.
AMDRT Coordinating Center
Maureen G. Maguire, Ph.D.
3535 Market Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
(212) 615-1501
Study Chairman: Stuart Fine, M.D.
Scheie Eye
University of Pennsylvania
Department of Ophthalmology
51 North 39 Street, Room 502
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
(212) 662-8657
Dr. Dennis Marcus
Medical College of Georgia
112 15 Street
Augusta, GA 30912
(706) 721-1151
The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary
310 East 14th Street
New York City, New York 10003
212-979-4000
Paul T. Finger, MD
Inclusion Criteria:
Borish Center for Ophthalmic Research
Donna Carter, BGS, at
812 855-4093
(Co-Director Sarita Soni, O.D., M.S.)
Community Eye Care Center in Bloomington
Michelle Cornett
COT at 812 856-4470
(office of Vic Malinovsky, O.D.)
Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis
Linda Pratt, RN, at 317 274-3821
(office of Ron Danis, M.D. and Tom Ciulla, M.D.)
For further information, see the MD Support Glossary and to read personal experiences, visit the Treatment Archives on the MD Support web site.