A crucial treatment to prevent blindness in premature babies will be routinely offered on the NHS for the first time, Amanda Pritchard has today revealed.
Typically, babies born with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) – a condition that affects blood vessels in the eye, damaging scar tissue and eventually causing blindness – are offered laser treatment.
However, some babies are too fragile to receive such treatment especially with the added risk of permanently damaging vision.
Announced today though, the NHS will offer the drug known as ranibizumab for premature babies born with ROP.
Ranibizumab is injected into the eye using a mechanism that does not cause any scarring which is particularly important for those with ROP in the most sensitive part of their vision.
It works by temporarily arresting the effect of a protein called vascular endothelial growth factor which in turn reduces, or reverses, the growth of the blood vessels causing damage to the baby’s vision.
Since the condition is preventable, all premature babies are screened for ROP – if a severe case is diagnosed, treatment can begin within two or three days, according to the health service.
Almost one in three (31%) babies will require a second treatment within four months of their first, with regular follow-ups in the opening six months and annual check-ups until the age of five.
The news comes on the eve of the NHS’s 75th birthday; NHS Providers’ chief executive, Sir Julian Hartley, wrote exclusively for NHE about what he thinks needs to happen to ensure the health service thrives in the future.
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