Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Wet Macular Degeneration

Here is a more Scientific detailed Explanation of ARM

Treatments for wet AMD

The proliferation of abnormal blood vessels in the retina is stimulated by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).Anti-angiogenesis or anti-VEGF agents can cause regression of the abnormal blood vessels and improve vision when injected directly into the vitreous humour of the eye. The injections must be repeated monthly or bimonthly.

The first angiogenesis inhibitor, a monoclonal antibody against VEGF-A, wasbevacizumab, which is approved for use in cancer. Ranibizumab is a smaller fragment, Fab fragment, of the parent bevacizumab molecule specifically designed for eye injections. The cost of ranibizumab is approximatelyGB£742 per treatment in the United Kingdom. Bevacizumab is packaged and used for cancer in larger doses than the doses used in the eye. It can be administered in smaller doses in the eye, off label, at a cost of less than one-tenth that of ranibizumab per treatment. A recent randomised control trial found that bevacizumab and ranibizumab had similar efficacy, and reported no significant increase in adverse events with bevacizumab

In the UK, NICE issued guidelines for the treatment of wet AMD in the NHS. NICE only approved use of ranibizumab for wet AMD in the NHS in England. NHS hospitals and Primary Care Trusts in England are required to follow NICE guidance.

Other approved antiangiogenic drugs for the treatment of neo-vascular AMD includepegaptanib (Macugen) andaflibercept (Eylea)

 

Photodynamic therapy has also been used to treat wet AMD. The drug verteporfin is administered intravenously; light of the correct wavelength is then applied to the abnormal blood vessels. This activates the verteporfin and obliterates the vessels.

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