New Therapy for Eye Disease

News@ Nature has this report that Bevasiranib, a trial drug tested on patients with eye disease, has had success. The report states:

The trial on 129 patients found that Bevasiranib reduced blood-vessel growth in the eyes and improved vision slightly. At the lowest doses, these effects lasted for several months; at higher doses the positive responses are still present, says Dale Pfost, Acuity's president. No adverse side effects were seen other than the anticipated swelling and inflammation at the site where the drug was injected into the eye.

....Bevasiranib turns off the gene for a molecule called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which stimulates blood-vessel growth across the retina of AMD patients. The drug uses short sections of RNA, the molecular cousin of DNA, which often ferries genetic information around cells.

Cheers,
Colin