Macular Program
In the News
Chanel 3 NEWS
May, 2015
Emerging New Therapy to Treat Wet Macular Degeneration Non-Invasively Showing Unprecedented Results
January, 2016
Macular degeneration, a chronic and progressive disease, affects an estimated 12 million Americans and this number is expected to rise to 22 million. 10% currently have the wet form of the disease. Treatment of the wet disease consists of uncomfortable and potentially dangerous anti-VEGF injections into the eye every 1 to 3 months for the life of the patient to preserve vision. VEGF drugs attack the abnormal blood vessels that cause the wet disease but, over time cause retinal degeneration.
The Macular Program, a leader in Epigenetic Health; the rapidly evolving evidence-based science that improves the activity and expression of your genetics, is making strides in the field of eye care to prevent and help treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Early results with dry disease indicate vision improvements, giving new hope to patients with this condition.
A patient with grossly distorted vision from wet macular degeneration received anti-VEGF injections every nine weeks for one year. The patient added the Macular Program's Advanced Wellness to her overall health regimen and is now 20/20, without needing a single injection in the last six months. This result is one her retina doctor says happens “almost never.”
The Macular Program integrates genetic based therapy, bioidentical hormones, and nutrition to help the body naturally repair itself at the cellular level. “Epigenetic therapy has anti-VEGF properties because it turns off the genes that make VEGF,” said Brian Bakke PhD and chief science officer at the Macular Program. “Furthermore, epigenetic therapy has powerful anti-inflammatory properties which are known to help eyes with wet macular degeneration along with the ability to positively influence the activity of many genes that can help heal disease.”
“The improvement in the patient’s retinal photographs and vision is a paradigm shift in what is possible,” said George Rozakis, M.D., Board Certified, Medical Director at the Macular Program. The eye is the window to the body” said Dr. Sedlacek, Macular Program director of Optometry. “What we are seeing in the eye is happening throughout the body which is why Epigenetic Health improves overall health and wellness. It’s what happens when you help all the cells in the body.”
Through future clinical studies the Macular Program is looking to determine if Epigenetic Health can decrease the need for anti-VEGF injections. If the Macular Program reduces the need for VEGF injections to once or twice a year, or even completely, it would be a monumental paradigm shift for Ophthalmology, Optometry and the role of the eye doctor in the pursuit of health and wellness.
Recently a study conducted by the National Eye Institute and published in the Journal of Nature Genetics discovered 34 more genes that are involved with macular degeneration. For the Macular Program, these 34 genes are new targets for epigenetic therapy.
The Macular Program begins with four simple tests to study a patient’s genetics, biochemistry, hormones, and inflammatory drivers. Two of the tests can be done at home and the remainder involves a typical blood draw. The results of these tests are combined with a review of a patients personal history and gives xR health providers the information needed to prescribe a personalized solution that includes targeted nutrition, nutraceuticals and hormones to allow one’s body’s reparative mechanisms to get back to work.
Beyond AREDS2: Vision Improvement in Macular Degeneration using Hormones, Genetics, Methylation, Nutrition and Anti-Oxidative Therapy
May, 2013
Ophthalmologist George Rozakis MD reviews why the recently completed AREDS2 study failed to provide incremental improvement in macular degeneration therapy and reviews a case history of a patient whose vision improved in weeks after using genetic testing to unblock methylation pathways, anti-oxidative therapy, hormonal restoration and genetically guided nutrition.
"Visual acuity improvement is possible in macular degeneration if multiple strategies are utilized to optimize cellular function." — George Rozakis, MD
Macular Program
IN THE NEWS
Chanel 3 NEWS
May, 2015
Emerging New Therapy to Treat Wet Macular Degeneration Non-Invasively Showing Unprecedented Results
January, 2016
Macular degeneration, a chronic and progressive disease, affects an estimated 12 million Americans and this number is expected to rise to 22 million. 10% currently have the wet form of the disease. Treatment of the wet disease consists of uncomfortable and potentially dangerous anti-VEGF injections into the eye every 1 to 3 months for the life of the patient to preserve vision. VEGF drugs attack the abnormal blood vessels that cause the wet disease but, over time cause retinal degeneration.
The Macular Program, a leader in Epigenetic Health; the rapidly evolving evidence-based science that improves the activity and expression of your genetics, is making strides in the field of eye care to prevent and help treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Early results with dry disease indicate vision improvements, giving new hope to patients with this condition.
A patient with grossly distorted vision from wet macular degeneration received anti-VEGF injections every nine weeks for one year. The patient added the Macular Program's Advanced Wellness to her overall health regimen and is now 20/20, without needing a single injection in the last six months. This result is one her retina doctor says happens “almost never.”
The Macular Program integrates genetic based therapy, bioidentical hormones, and nutrition to help the body naturally repair itself at the cellular level. “Epigenetic therapy has anti-VEGF properties because it turns off the genes that make VEGF,” said Brian Bakke PhD and chief science officer at the Macular Program. “Furthermore, epigenetic therapy has powerful anti-inflammatory properties which are known to help eyes with wet macular degeneration along with the ability to positively influence the activity of many genes that can help heal disease.”
“The improvement in the patient’s retinal photographs and vision is a paradigm shift in what is possible,” said George Rozakis, M.D., Board Certified, Medical Director at the Macular Program. The eye is the window to the body” said Dr. Sedlacek, Macular Program director of Optometry. “What we are seeing in the eye is happening throughout the body which is why Epigenetic Health improves overall health and wellness. It’s what happens when you help all the cells in the body.”
Through future clinical studies the Macular Program is looking to determine if Epigenetic Health can decrease the need for anti-VEGF injections. If the Macular Program reduces the need for VEGF injections to once or twice a year, or even completely, it would be a monumental paradigm shift for Ophthalmology, Optometry and the role of the eye doctor in the pursuit of health and wellness.
Recently a study conducted by the National Eye Institute and published in the Journal of Nature Genetics discovered 34 more genes that are involved with macular degeneration. For the Macular Program, these 34 genes are new targets for epigenetic therapy.
The Macular Program begins with four simple tests to study a patient’s genetics, biochemistry, hormones, and inflammatory drivers. Two of the tests can be done at home and the remainder involves a typical blood draw. The results of these tests are combined with a review of a patients personal history and gives xR health providers the information needed to prescribe a personalized solution that includes targeted nutrition, nutraceuticals and hormones to allow one’s body’s reparative mechanisms to get back to work.
Beyond AREDS2: Vision Improvement in Macular Degeneration using Hormones, Genetics, Methylation, Nutrition and Anti-Oxidative Therapy
May, 2013
Ophthalmologist George Rozakis MD reviews why the recently completed AREDS2 study failed to provide incremental improvement in macular degeneration therapy and reviews a case history of a patient whose vision improved in weeks after using genetic testing to unblock methylation pathways, anti-oxidative therapy, hormonal restoration and genetically guided nutrition.
"Visual acuity improvement is possible in macular degeneration if multiple strategies are utilized to optimize cellular function." — George Rozakis, MD
George Rozakis MD, author and pioneering Ophthalmologist who helped innovate the Lasik procedure claims that it is possible to improve visual acuity in patients with macular degeneration if the macula is “marginal”. This is especially timely given the recent failure of AREDS2 anti-oxidation vitamin and supplement study to show significant benefit for the eye over AREDS1. He defines “marginal” as a macula whose critical cells are still alive but struggling to be healthy. These patients have lost vision, but there is still time to rejuvenate these cells before they die” using human genome science, methylation biochemistry, bioidentical hormones, anti-oxidation and genetically guided nutrition.
A representative patient writes: “… I couldn’t read…. Letters were popping out darker and others were behind and I couldn’t make them out to read. I actually would cry because I thought I would never be able to read again … My husband was sad when he saw I had hugely enlarged the lettering on my kindle to read. A few weeks or a month after I was on your program I had my kindle at small size lettering. I was so happy that I could read again. When we went to Barnes and Noble I had to leave because I couldn’t read. Now we can go again. I can live with the way my eyes are now and be happy. I don’t ever want to return to the way my eyes were. Please continue to study this so maybe someday it will prevent others from getting it at all.”
Dr. Rozakis states, “this result is not a first. Our first patient years ago impressed me when she stated how her night vision improved within about a month of treatment. That was not expected and unsolicited. After the improvement in vision we generally see stability.” Dr. Emhof, a board certified family practitioner adds, “the same therapy that benefits the macula also benefits overall health and wellness, thus offering the macular patient multiple benefits. We rarely see that with anti-oxidative therapy alone.”
“The reason these patients improve is because we are optimizing the health of the eye at the cellular level by unblocking methylation pathways, anti-oxidation and optimizing hormones along with nutritional support geared to the genetic makeup of the patient.” Optometrist Scott Sedlacek agrees. “The key to this therapeutic approach for the retinal pigment epithelial cells that are sick in macular degeneration is that it is not limited to anti-oxidation as was done in AREDS1 and ARDES2. Results showing an improvement in vision is a paradigm shift and it tells us that this approach is worthy of intense study. Optometry and Ophthalmology must focus on the prevention and treatment of disease instead of helplessly watching a patient’s vision deteriorate over time and providing incomplete therapies such as AREDS1 and AREDS2 that create a false sense of security by delivering only one modality of therapy.”
Brian A. Bakke, a PhD in bio-organic chemistry and expert in unblocking methylation pathways concurs. “The impetus to only focus on anti-oxidation may have been a good idea in 2008 when the AREDS2 study began and we do employ anti-oxidative nutraceuticals, however in today’s world of genetic bio-science there are more and better ways to optimize cellular health. We are finding that patients with macular degeneration have insufficient hormonal levels and problems in the methionine and transsulfuration pathway. This tells us that the retinal pigment epithelial cells, which become sick in macular degeneration, degenerate due to their inability to keep up with the tremendous demands placed on them within eye.
“In the early stage of macular degeneration, vision is still good and no improvement is possible”, said Dr. Rozakis “Here the goal of therapy is stability. In late disease where the pigment epithelial cells and rods and cones are severely compromised or dead, no improvement is possible.” The “marginal” macula with mild to moderate visual loss offers us an excellent opportunity to improve cellular function and measure a result.”
“Do we have all the answers? Of course not, but the key is that we apply all the answers we have and not limit ourselves to anti-oxidative therapy as in AREDS2.” said Dr. Rozakis. “Finding hormonal and genetic errors and being able to treat them is today’s paradigm shift.” As for rebuilding a severely degenerated macula, the hope is that stem cells can repopulate the pigment epithelium and that the rods and codes can reform as well. That is the future. In the meantime we must keep our existing pigment epithelial cells and rods and cones healthy using genetic knowledge, methylation science, hormones, anti-oxidation and nutrition all aimed at the cellular level.” For more information contact the Macular Program at 440-777-2667 or visit macularprogram.com
The Macular Program specializes in the turbocharging of current wellness programs by the delivery of advanced medical information to the doctor – patient relationship to optimize cellular function using genetics, methylation biochemistry, bioidentical hormones, and nutrition. The Macular Program clinical science coupled with traditional wellness can prevent and treat disease, improve the quality of life of patients, lower the cost of health care, and improve productivity in the workplace.
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