I finished a report I absolutely had to do and thought I would go hunting clinical trials again. I am reasonably sure I have applied for what I would be interested in at Wills (although I do check periodically) so I thought I would go a little further afield.
This brought me to the question: where are the most hotshot, acclaimed eye hospitals in the nation? It turns out that question can be answered by U.S. News.
U.S.News ranks doctors in every field. They also rank hospitals. Turns out, according to their ratings under ophthalmology, Wills in Philly is number 2! Try harder, guys!
Number 1 is Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami. They are recruiting for a study on ‘photothermal therapy’ (no clue…yet), ALK-001 for Stargardt disease and also some anti-VEGF treatment for diabetic retinopathy. Bascom-Palmer listed very few clinical trials but one of them might be for you. If you are a Floridian, check it out.
Going geographically, #3 is my next closest option. That is the Wilmer Eye Institute in Baltimore. Wilmer is part of Johns-Hopkins. Wilmer is running the same ALK-001 study as well as some stuff on oxidation stress. Unfortunately, they did not have anything I was interested in. Back to the search!
Mass. General’s Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston came in #4. Not a realistic commute for me. Neither are UCLA Medical Center or Duke University Hospital. That is Durham, North Carolina, by the way.
#7 is in Iowa City and affiliated with the U. of Iowa. #8 is Cleveland Clinic. #9 is W.K. Kellogg Center in Michigan and #10 is in the Big Apple. The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary to be precise.
New York did not have anything that enticed me. At least not in the way of clinical trials. They are recruiting for a numbers of studies for those with wet AMD. If you go there, take some time and see a play for me. Or go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. These may be touristy things to do, but I have always enjoyed them.
The search of 9 of the 10, best hospitals yielding nothing, I went back to check Wills. I got a scare there. I had to search for my second study (Remember my first option is back to using real rats and is no longer recruiting). It turned out ‘my’ study was listed 293 out of 363 studies. Thank goodness it was listed as recruiting with a current date. There seems to still be hope!
It appears whatever Fates are moving me, they are still pushing me towards Wills. So far that is my clinical study destination, if anywhere at all (and we all know how stubborn I am so it will be somewhere). Hopefully I mention a great hospital that may be an option for you. Good hunting!