Episode 4: The Societal Impact of Retinal Diseases

In this episode of the ‘Eyes on Retina.The Podcast.’ Series 2, Professor Peter Kaiser is joined by Avril Daly, CEO of Retina International, to discuss the vital role that patient groups play in providing education and support, distributing information and supporting clinical trials. Listen as they explore how different groups can work together to ensure the patient voice remains at the centre of the story.

In the sixth episode of the ‘Eyes on Retina.The Podcast.’ series, Professor Peter Kaiser is joined by Professor Hendrik Scholl, Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, and Caitriona Dunne who worked at the patient advocacy organisation, Fighting Blindness Ireland and was diagnosed with Stargardt disease at the age of 19. Listen in as the participants discuss this rare eye disease which typically causes progressive vision loss during childhood or adolescence.

In the fifth episode of the ‘Eyes on Retina. The Podcast.’ series, Professor Peter Kaiser is joined by Professor Sobha Sivaprasad, Consultant Ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital and University College Hospital, and Jacqueline Humphreys, an osteopath and lecturer at the University of Swansea who is living with diabetic macular ischemia. Listen in as the participants discuss the condition and their hopes for a treatment.

In the final episode of 2020 of the ‘Eyes on Retina. The Podcast.’, Professor Peter Kaiser is joined by Karen Denton, a key member of the patient organization Retina South Africa, part of the wider Retina International group. Listen in as they discuss a range of matters from the impact vision loss has on day-to-day life to the economic consequences of retinal diseases worldwide.

In the third episode of the ‘Eyes on Retina. The Podcast.’ series, Professor Peter Kaiser is joined by Professor Tien Wong, Medical Director of the Singapore National Eye Centre, and diabetes patient advocate Berni Warren, who has lived with Diabetic Retinopathy for nine years. Listen in as the participants discuss the progression of diabetic retinopathy, treatment options, and the future outlook for patients living with diabetic retinopathy.

In this episode Professor Peter Kaiser is joined by Professor Usha Chakravarthy, Professor of Ophthalmology and Vision Science at Queen’s University of Belfast, and retired chemical engineer David Matthews who has lived with Geographic Atrophy for four years. Listen in as the participants explore Geographic Atrophy in depth from diagnosis and management to tips on how to cope with vision loss.

In this first episode of the ‘Eyes on Retina. The Podcast.’ series, we hear from Jane Schorer Meisner and Professor Peter Kaiser. Jane is a retired journalist and editor, who has lived with wet AMD for ten years, following a haemorrhage in her right eye, and Professor Kaiser is a Professor of Ophthalmology at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. Listen to them as they discuss the impact wet AMD has on Jane’s life and the future outlook for patients living with this condition.