Liisa Hirvonen edited sectionIntroduction_.tex  almost 9 years ago

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Introduction  There are many diseases that manifest in the posterior segment of the eye. These include age-related macular degeneration (AMD), retinal vein occlusion, and diabetic retinopathy and maculopathy. Together they account for the majority of blind registrations in the developed world.\cite{Bunce2010} Many of these diseases are treated with regular injections of drugs into the vitreous cavity, with the inconvenience of regular clinic review, cost of injection, discomfort, and small but repeated risks of complications.\cite{Edelhauser2010} Given the many downsides of regular intravitreal injections, the drug industry is actively investigating novel methods of delivering drugs to the posterior segment, including sustained release intravitreal devices,\cite{Callanan2008} transscleral drug delivery,\cite{Ambati2002, Ambati2000a, Ambati2000b} topical drug delivery (eye drops),\cite{ref7} oral \cite{McLaughlin2013} and others such as iontophoresis.\cite{Molokhia2009}