Jetrea is the first alternative to surgery for a condition called VMA - Vitreomacular Adhesion.
Dr. Allen Ho, a retinal specialist at Wills Eye Institute, explains the eye is filled with a clear jelly. Over time, that jelly will shrink and it can start to stick and pull on the macula, which controls focus.
"Sometimes you can actually pull a hole, and that's a macular hole, which is one of the conditions that is treatable with this new medicine," says Dr. Ho.
Signs of VMA or a macular hole include blurry vision, or a sudden change in vision. But some patients with VMA have no symptoms.
71-year-old Maureen Staudenmeier of Doylestown, Bucks County found out she had a macular hole when a retina specialist scanned her eyes.
Today, with Jetrea, instead of surgery, her eye is numbed and then the drug is injected.
Dr. Ho calls this a game changer.
"The medicine goes to dissolve adhesions causing the problem in the focus point of the eye," he says.
He says for small holes, it works 60-percent of the time.
Maureen is hoping it'll work for her, so she can enjoy life with her 6 children and 16 grandchildren, and get back to some of her favorite pasttimes.
"I read a lot, I do the Times crossword puzzle, I do the jumble. All of that," she says with a smile.
Jetrea was approved by the Food & Drug Administration in October 2012.
For more information, check out, WillsEye.org.
