Ganciclovir implant study for cytomegalovirus retinitis.

A National Eye Institute (NEI) clinical trial reported that a new, drug-releasing device was effective in treating cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis, a sight-threatening disease that affects one out of four people with AIDS.

The four millimeter-diameter device, called a ganciclovir implant, is surgically placed into the eye, where it releases the anti-viral drug ganciclovir over a period of several months.

The findings, published in the December 1994 issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, show that AIDS patients had no progression of newly diagnosed CMV retinitis for about eight months using the ganciclovir implant. Among those who received no immediate treatment, the eye infection worsened in about 15 days.

"These findings provide strong scientific evidence that this experimental device can help to improve the …