A "life-changing" drug will be offered to premature babies by the NHS in England to help save their sight. The treatment - called ranibizumab - can be given to infants who suffer from an eye condition that affects blood vessels in the retina but are too unwell or fragile to undergo traditional laser surgery.
The disease, retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), creates damaging scar tissue and causes blindness. Ranibizumab is already routinely used in adults with wet age-related macular degeneration, and works by temporarily stopping the action of a growth protein called vascular endothelial growth factor, which reduces or reverses the growth of the abnormal blood vessels.
Babies are routinely screened for the condition by the NHS. Around 20 patients a year will benefit, it is estimated.
