Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-05-07 Daily Xml

Contents

Macular Degeneration

In reply to the Hon. K.L. VINCENT (11 February 2015).

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers): I have been advised:

'Wet' and 'Dry' are terms applied to late stage Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD). Wet AMD requires expensive monthly injections, whereas there is no current treatment for Dry AMD.

The research trialling Ellex Medical's Retinal Rejuvenation Therapy is targeting the early stages of AMD, for which there is no current treatment available. If the trial is successful, it will have the potential to delay the progression of the disease and thereby reduce the massive burden of treatment to patients, their families, and the whole health care system