FRANCAIS

February 08, 2006

The province will invest $583,000 to increase diagnostic testing and help prevent permanent sight loss due to macular degeneration, Health Minister Tim Sale announced today.

"Age-related macular degeneration is one of the leading causes of vision loss in people over the age of 50," said Sale. "A hallmark of effective health care is preventing injury and illness, and this increased funding for diagnostic testing will help reduce the risk for thousands of Manitobans."

"Although wet macular degeneration occurs in only 10 per cent of patients suffering macular degeneration, it is associated with the most severe vision loss. In many cases, but not all, this catastrophic visual loss can be prevented or greatly reduced with special lasers or other therapies," said Dr. Lorne Bellan, head of ophthalmology for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. "This excellent initiative will allow us to determine if patients can be helped with these therapies and will allow us to treat these patients in a timely fashion."

Macular degeneration causes permanent damage to the retina of the eye. Dry macular degeneration causes the retina to get thinner and slowly stop working. Wet macular degeneration is when blood vessels leak behind the retina, which can result in scar tissue. If detected early on, there are treatments and therapies that can reduce the damage to the retina.

The increased funding will be used to provide an additional 1,200 fluorescien angiograms and 900 additional fundus photography tests per year. These diagnostic tests diagnose and help doctors manage macular degeneration. The procedures will continue to be performed at Misericordia Health Centre.

"Quick access to these diagnostic tests can help prevent severe and permanent loss of vision," said Sale. "This new funding will increase the number of diagnostic scans to detect macular degeneration, providing better care sooner for thousands of Manitobans."

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