Depression — Preventing Depression in Patients With Macular Degeneration
Citation(s)
Casten RJ, Rovner BW, Tasman W Age-related macular degeneration and depression: a review of recent research. Curr Opin Ophthalmol. 2004 Jun;15(3):181-3. Review.
Casten, R J., & Rovner, B. W. The role of psychological characteristics in the use and perceived importance of low vision aids. Submitted to the Journal of Vision Impairment and Blindness
Rovner BW, Casten RJ, Tasman WS Effect of depression on vision function in age-related macular degeneration. Arch Ophthalmol. 2002 Aug;120(8):1041-4.
Rovner BW, Casten RJ Activity loss and depression in age-related macular degeneration. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2002 May-Jun;10(3):305-10.
Rovner BW, Casten RJ Neuroticism predicts depression and disability in age-related macular degeneration. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2001 Aug;49(8):1097-100.
Rovner BW, Ganguli M Depression and disability associated with impaired vision: the MoVies Project. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1998 May;46(5):617-9.
Rovner, B W., & Casten, R. J. Stability of Visual Acuity Measurement in Depression. Submitted to the Archives of Ophthalmology.
Interventional studies are often prospective and are specifically tailored to evaluate direct impacts of treatment or preventive measures on disease.
Observational studies are often retrospective and are used to assess potential causation in exposure-outcome relationships and therefore influence preventive methods.
Expanded access is a means by which manufacturers make investigational new drugs available, under certain circumstances, to treat a patient(s) with a serious disease or condition who cannot participate in a controlled clinical trial.
Clinical trials are conducted in a series of steps, called phases - each phase is designed to answer a separate research question.
Phase 1: Researchers test a new drug or treatment in a small group of people for the first time to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range, and identify side effects.
Phase 2: The drug or treatment is given to a larger group of people to see if it is effective and to further evaluate its safety.
Phase 3: The drug or treatment is given to large groups of people to confirm its effectiveness, monitor side effects, compare it to commonly used treatments, and collect information that will allow the drug or treatment to be used safely.
Phase 4: Studies are done after the drug or treatment has been marketed to gather information on the drug's effect in various populations and any side effects associated with long-term use.
