FEATURE STORY Ophthalmology Research Unit in Diabetic Retinopathy established GPHnews 9 Dr Chris Layton, a clinical ophthalmologist based exclusively at Greenslopes Hospital, has established an innovative and unique research unit to develop and investigate new treatments for retinal disease and diabetic retinopathy at the Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation. Diabetic retinopathy is prevalent in patients at Greenslopes Private Hospital and in the community, with high numbers either suffering the disease or at risk of developing it in the future. It affects the young and old indiscriminately, often striking in the prime of life with devastating consequences to patients and their families. Dr Layton has been very pleased with progress to date. “The Ophthalmology Research Unit is unique in Queensland. As well as having an impact in the scientific community, it is especially exciting for patients because it will allow them access to previously unavailable treatments and the option to participate in promising clinical trials in addition to receiving their usual therapy,” Dr Layton said. “From a scientific standpoint, because the unit is directed by a practicing clinical ophthalmologist it is driven towards patient focussed problems and gaps in available therapy which cause damage to patients’ vision rather than drifting into arcane scientific investigation. At present the unit is seeking to identify relevant mechanisms which make the retina uniquely susceptible to retinopathy and applying them as innovative approaches to prevent blindness,” Dr Layton said. Dr Layton says his immediate plans are to expand access to the latest innovations in other medical retina diseases with wider laboratory and clinical research programs in conditions like macular degeneration and retinal vein occlusions. Dr Layton is a Queensland trained comprehensive ophthalmologist and medical retinal subspecialist. In addition to his specialist training, Dr Layton completed his subspecialties over 5 further years of training and was awarded a PhD from Oxford University in the areas of medical retinal disease and diabetic retinopathy. Before establishing The Ophthalmology Greenslopes Private Hospital is proud to announce that Assisted Conception Australia (ACA) has been published for a world first in the prestigious journal Fertility and Sterility in December 2013. ACA has assisted in the conception of the world’s first male children from a man affected with Prune Belly Syndrome or Eagle Barrett Syndrome (EBS). EBS is a rare condition which particularly occurs in males and results in very severe male infertility which is particularly difficult to treat even with assisted reproductive technologies. It is a testimony to the quality of individualised care available at ACA that two healthy males have been born. The birth of these two healthy boys gives hope to all the men who suffer EBS – firstly that they may become fathers and secondly that their sons are not necessarily going to be affected. ACA has also recently completed a study of the vaginal lubricants used by couples attempting to conceive a pregnancy. Many lubricants are marketed as “sperm friendly” or facilitative to conception but many are either not studied or potentially reduce a couples chance of conceiving. The study conducted by scientist Cora Newton as part of her Honours thesis, under the supervision of embryologists at ACA, found that the lubricants with the most simple list of ingredients were likely to be less toxic to sperm. The lubricants currently marketed as Pre-Seed and Conceive-Plus were the least sperm toxic and there were marked differences between the different products tested. The study will be published in the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics. For more information visit www.acaivf.com.au Research Unit, he had served in various clinical capacities in Queensland and the UK, and had been a clinical representative on the Greenslopes Hospital Research Ethics Committee. For more information on Dr Layton’s clinical work, research activities or any of the other studies being conducted by GMRF researchers please visit www.gallipoliresearch.com.au World first for Disaster relief for the Philippines In November last year, Greenslopes Private Hospital championed a Ramsay Health Care wide initiative to raise money for the stricken people of the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan. Through the selling of raffle tickets, Greenslopes raised close to $4000 for the cause, the most of any Ramsay Health Care facility. Ramsay employees raised a combined $30,000, which Ramsay Health Care matched dollar-for-dollar, resulting in a $60,000 donation. The money was donated to Shelterbox, an international disaster relief charity that delivers emergency resources to people affected by disaster.
GPH News Summer 2014
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