Grandad first in world to get drug that may save his sight
A PATIENT is hoping to see his grandchildren grow up after becoming the first person in the world to test a new drug to stop diabetes patients losing their eyesight.
Steve Gotts, 63, has had diabetes for 30 years but also suffers from diabetic maculopathy, a condition caused by a build-up of excess fluid in the back of the eye that puts sufferers at risk of going blind.
Now the retired scientific officer, of Bootle, Merseyside, has become the first of 24 patients on a trial of Danegaptide, a month of tablets, at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
The eye condition can currently be treated only at a late stage with injections or lasers, and in the UK most type 1 diabetes sufferers and two-thirds of type 2 patients have backof-the-eye damage after 20 years of diagnosis.
Steve’s condition is currently under control, but he has explored possible complications that could occur in the future, including deterioration of his eyesight.
He said: “The prospect of going blind due to my condition and not seeing my grandchildren grow up made me want to take part in a clinical trial.
“I am proud to be the first patient in the world to try this treatment, which will hopefully not only help save my sight but others’ sight as well.”
The keen golfer also spends his free time building complex scale model figurines, something he could not do if his sight deteriorated.
He has been treated by the diabetic teams at LUHFT since his diagnosis in his 30s, and had a device fitted in his arm that helps him maintain stable blood-sugar levels.
Now he is the first of 24 people across the world to be given Danegaptide, trialled at St Paul’s Clinical Eye Research Centre, a part of the Royal Liverpool University Hospital.
“Receiving the treatment was seamless,” he said. “The unit and the research staff supporting me were lovely and have continued to monitor me at weekly appointments over four weeks. It’s been a great experience.
“The treatment options currently available to diabetic patients are very invasive so I am glad I can play my part in hopefully replacing this with much gentler treatment and benefit from the treatment myself.”
Comfortable
Dr Phil Burgess, honorary consultant ophthalmologist at Liverpool University Hospitals, said: “This drug could mean injections into the back of the eye may not be necessary for patients with this condition, replacing this with a tabletbased treatment, which is a much more comfortable treatment. “The medication will be taken for a month and patients will continue to be closely monitored.”