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CataractNCT00078299

Evaluation of the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) Clinical Lens Grading System

An observational study of Cataract, run by National Eye Institute (NEI) at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

This study will evaluate a system developed to grade the severity of age-related cataract, a common cause of vision loss in older adults. Cataract research requires methods to simply and accurately determine the type and severity of cataracts in order to develop new, possibly non-surgical, treatments. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Any age
Conditions the study is for
Cataract
How many people
150 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
Feb 2004to Apr 2005
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages Any age
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Child, Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Patient must understand and sign the informed consent.
  • Patient must be at least 18 years of age.
  • Pupillary dilation to at least 6 mm must be possible.
  • Patients must have at least one natural lens present.

Who cannot join

  • Patients below the age of 18 will be excluded from participation in this study of age-related cataract.
  • 1. Any condition such as corneal opacification that precludes adequate slit lamp examination and photography of the lens.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • National Eye Institute (NEI)

    Bethesda, Maryland, 20892

Other trials in United States

About this study

This study will evaluate a system developed to grade the severity of age-related cataract, a common cause of vision loss in older adults. Cataract research requires methods to simply and accurately determine the type and severity of cataracts in order to develop new, possibly non-surgical, treatments.

Patients 50 years of age and older with one of the three major age-related cataract types (nuclear, cortical, and posterior subcapsular) may be eligible for this study. Participants will be recruited from among patients enrolled in other National Eye Institute protocols.

Participants will have their eyes examined independently by two ophthalmologists with a biomicroscope, a magnifying device routinely used during eye examinations. The doctors will use the new grading system to record if a cataract is present, and if so, how severe it is. The examination includes measurement of visual acuity (vision chart test) and examination of the lens, retina, pupils and eye movements. Photographs of the eye will be taken using a special camera that flashes a bright light in the eye.

Read the detailed description

Standardized lens photography with centralized grading of photographs has been used in clinical trials and epidemiologic studies of cataract. While photographic grading systems have been shown to be reliable, they are too expensive and complex to use in many studies. For some large studies, especially those with many centers or those in which lens changes are of secondary concern, it would be useful to have a simple clinical lens grading system that is reliable and that can be used with minimal training of examiners. Several clinical lens grading systems have been developed and found to be reliable in the hands of dedicated lens researchers, but the systems have been difficult for other ophthalmologists to use reliably.

The Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDA) has developed a simplified clinical cataract grading system to assess the severity of nuclear, cortical and posterior subcapsular cataracts, the 3 main types of age-related cataract. The system is designed to require minimal examiner training for persons already proficient in the use of the slit lamp. A total 150 participants with cataracts of varying severity, who are already participating in other NEI protocols, will be recruited to evaluate the reliability of the system. After being dilated, each participant will have a lens grading performed independently by 2 examiners. To provide information on the validity of the clinical gradings, lens photographs will be taken and graded using the detailed AREDS system for grading photographs. The data will allow us to evaluate (1) the agreement between the AREDS clinical lens grading system and the AREDS photographic system of grading lens opacities, and (2) the agreement on assessment of cataract severity among opthalmologists (with varying subspecialty) using the AREDS clinical lens grading method.

Conditions
Cataract
Keywords
Cortical, Nuclear Sclerosis, Posterior Subcapsular, Photographic Methods, Reproducibility (intra and interobserver), Cataract, Agreement, Grading System
Medical subject headings
Cataract

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted23 Feb 2004 (estimated)
  2. Study startFeb 2004
  3. Study completionApr 2005

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Observational
Enrolment
150 participants
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00078299
Sponsor's protocol ID
040128
Other IDs
04-EI-0128
Status last verified
Apr 2005
First submitted
20 Feb 2004
Last updated
4 Mar 2008
Results posted
No

Publications

  • Steinberg EP, Javitt JC, Sharkey PD, Zuckerman A, Legro MW, Anderson GF, Bass EB, O'Day D. The content and cost of cataract surgery. Arch Ophthalmol. 1993 Aug;111(8):1041-9. doi: 10.1001/archopht.1993.01090080037016.

    PubMed 8352686
  • Age-Related Eye Disease Study Research Group. The age-related eye disease study (AREDS) system for classifying cataracts from photographs: AREDS report no. 4. Am J Ophthalmol. 2001 Feb;131(2):167-75. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9394(00)00732-7.

    PubMed 11228291
  • Chylack LT Jr, Leske MC, McCarthy D, Khu P, Kashiwagi T, Sperduto R. Lens opacities classification system II (LOCS II). Arch Ophthalmol. 1989 Jul;107(7):991-7. doi: 10.1001/archopht.1989.01070020053028.

    PubMed 2751471

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Cataract, run by National Eye Institute (NEI) at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 4 Mar 2008. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00078299, which also lists 3 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 4 Mar 2008.

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