§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has commissioned in each of the last five years into the causes and treatments of age-related macular degeneration; what further research he intends to commission; and how much his Department has spent on this research in each of the last five years. [26812]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 15 January 2002]: The main Government agency for research into the causes and treatment of disease is the Medical Research Council (MRC), which is funded through the Department of Trade and Industry. MRC expenditure on research since 1997 that is directly relevant to macular degeneration is estimated as follows:
£ 1997–98 300,000 1998–99 82,000 1999–2000 78,000 2000–01 140,000 The MRC has funded a number of projects looking at macular degeneration. Projects include:
Radiotherapy in the treatment of subfoveal neovascular membranes (CNVM) in age related macular degeneration of the eye: a randomised controlled trial.Dr. G. Silvestri Queen's University of Belfast: Refining phenotypic variation in age related macular degeneration.Professor R. D. Lund: Schwann and schwann cell line transplantation to prevent photoreceptor loss.Professor U. Chakravarthy: Optical coherence tomography scanning of diseases of the macular of the eye.Dr. R. W. Yates: Genetic Susceptibility to Age Related Macular DegenerationThe MRC always welcomes high quality applications for support into any aspect of human health and these are judged in open competition with other demands on 1082W funding. Awards are made according to their scientific quality and importance to human health. The Department has supported, through national and regional programmes, research on macular degeneration. Projects include an on-going project due to complete in July 2002 on "A clinical technique for measuring macular pigment optical density in patients with macular degeneration".
§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the number of people treated in the last year with photodynamic therapy in the private sector following a diagnosis of wet age-related macular degeneration in an NHS hospital. [27033]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 15 January 2002]: As the Department does not routinely collect information on operations carried out privately, we are unable to make an estimate.
§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the therapies licensed in the UK for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration; when they were licensed; how much the NHS has spent on them; and how many people have benefited from them in each of the last three years. [26814]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 15 January 2002]: Currently the only product licensed for the indication age-related macular degeneration is Visudyne. A European-wide licence was granted by the European Commission on 27 July 2000. We do not hold information on the number of patients treated with Visudyne or the amount of the product that the national health service has purchased.
§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether photodynamic therapy of age-related macular degeneration is generally available within the NHS. [26813]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 15 January 2002]: The treatment is not generally available under the national health service. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is carrying out an appraisal of the use of photodynamic therapy in the treatment of macular disease which they expect to complete in July. The Department has asked NHS bodies to continue with local arrangements for the managed introduction of new technologies where guidance from NICE is not available at the time the technology first became available. These arrangements should involve an assessment of all relevant factors including the available evidence on effect.
§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the number of people diagnosed each year with age-related macular degeneration. [26815]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 15 January 2002]: A recent study sponsored by the Macular Disease Society estimated that there are currently 182,000 people suffering from age-related macular degeneration with a best eye visual acuity below that judged appropriate for certification as blind or partially sighted. The study forecast that this number would increase to 194,000 by 2008.