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Steve Gotts, 63, a husband, father and grandad of two, is a retired Scientific Officer from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has battled with diabetes for over 30 years. After struggling with his condition over the years, Steve was treated by the diabetes teams and had a device fitted in his arm which helps him maintain stable blood sugars. With his condition under control,
Steve decided to look to the future and other possible complications that could occur because of his diabetes, one being the deterioration of his eyesight Steve spends his retirement golfing and completing complex scale model figurines, something he couldn’t do if his sight deteriorated.
St Paul’s Clinical Eye Research Centre and the University of Liverpool partnered with Breye Therapeutics to deliver the first dose of a treatment.
Steve was the first of 24 people across the world to be given a dose of Danegaptide, a tablet-based medication to reduce the effects of diabetic maculopathy. Diabetic maculopathy is caused by a build-up of excess fluid in the back of the eye, the retina, resulting in blurred vision. This condition leaves patients at risk of losing eyesight, causing devastating effects to everyday life.
Steve said: “The opportunity to join the trial came at the ‘perfect moment’, not only was it available to me based on the stage of my condition. I am proud to be the first patient in the world to try this treatment, which will hopefully not only help save my sight, but other’s sight as well. It’s been a great experience, the treatment options currently available to diabetic patients are very invasive so I am glad I can play my part in hopefully replacing this with much gentler treatment and benefit from the treatment myself.”
If you would like to support the world-class research being carried out by the St Paul’s team, please contact: Tom Southern on 0151 706 4291 or email: tom.