EAGLE Study
The EAGLE study investigating a new way of treating angle closure glaucoma, a potentially blinding condition, reports in the Lancet this month.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)30956-4/abstract
Dr Jennifer Burr, School of Medicine, University of St Andrews together with Professor Augusto Azuara-Blanco, Queens University Belfast, in collaboration with the University of Aberdeen led this international study. We randomised people newly presenting with angle closure glaucoma, or at high-risk of this type of glaucoma, to the new treatment (immediate surgery, removing the clear lens of the eye and replacing with a synthetic lens, or standard care which is laser and long term medication [daily eye drops]). At three years those allocated primary surgery had better health, vision and less need for daily eye drops. The findings suggest that for patients and health services clear lens extraction should be considered as primary treatment. The study continues for ten years to report long-term outcomes. EAGLE was funded by the Medical Research Council, and managed by the NIHR-EME 09-800-26)