![]() Preference was given to articles of formal as well as commercial organizations trusted by ophthalmologists and those believed to be regularly accessed by patients such as Wikipedia. The keywords “eye gene therapy” or “voretigene neparvovec” or “Luxturna” were entered in and in major medical websites such as the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) website, and relevant articles were selected for analysis from the top search results with exclusion of similar results from the same organization. As such, the goal of this study is to assess the accuracy, quality, and readability of online information regarding ocular applications of this gene therapy. 11 For these reasons, it is critical that the information patients obtain is accurate, complete, and easy to understand. 10 Low health literacy has been associated with poor medication adherence and adverse outcomes such as uncontrolled chronic disease and increased hospitalizations. Most patients read at an eighth grade level however, most sources of medical information are written at a tenth grade level or higher. 9 The content patients encounter would ideally be easy to comprehend. 8 The content acquired online influences patients’ health decisions. 8 Previous research shows about 62% of Internet users search the internet for health information. ![]() Millions of Americans search health-related information and seek medical advice online every day. With the approval of voretigene and the subsequent press coverage, patients with eye conditions are likely to learn about treatment options on the internet. 5 In the pivotal study, patients with this inherited retinal dystrophy were treated with subretinal injections of voretigene neparvovec and showed improvement in their functional vision which persisted for at least 4 years. 5 Voretigene neparvovec was unanimously approved by the FDA for patients with the biallelic RPE65 gene mutation form of hereditary retinal dystrophy. 4 In 2017, voretigene neparvovec (Luxturna, Spark Therapeutics, Philadelphia, PA, USA) became the third gene therapy to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It has been studied in years of experimentation to determine its use to treat several ocular conditions including neovascularization, retinitis pigmentosa, Stargardt disease, retinoblastoma, and more. Gene therapy has been of particular interest in ophthalmology. 2 Several trials have been conducted or are ongoing to evaluate the efficacy and safety of gene therapy, including but not limited to hematopoietic stem cell based gene therapy for β-thalassemia major, liver-directed gene therapy for hemophilia B, and T-cell immunotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. 1 Gene therapy was introduced in human subjects in the early 1990s, and currently, it is being recognized as a promising treatment option for multiple diseases. Gene augmentation therapy is a technique in which genetic material is introduced into a patient’s cells to treat or prevent disease.
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