Aflibercept (Eylea) injections prevent abnormal blood vessel growth that leak fluid or scar tissue into the retina and lead to macular degeneration. They should be given as monthly intraocular injections.

Most macular degeneration drugs work by inhibiting neovascularization by binding and blocking the action of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), an agent responsible for stimulating new blood vessel growth. Each macular degeneration treatment may work differently.

Symptoms

Macular degeneration is an insidious, gradual loss of central vision caused by degeneration of the macula, making it the leading cause of blindness among Americans aged 60 or over. Central vision becomes blurry and hazy, making it hard to read or drive a car while performing other tasks that require straight ahead vision; peripheral vision usually remains unaffected.

Macular degeneration symptoms tend to appear gradually over time and can usually be detected during a regular eye exam. At an exam, your doctor will ask about your vision and family history as well as examine your eyes with a slit lamp, take vision tests such as fluorescein angiography to evaluate retinal circulation, etc. In many cases early stage macular degeneration does not present with symptoms but regular exams with dilation may detect treatments available that can prevent or delay severe vision loss due to macular degeneration.

If macular degeneration has progressed far enough for blood vessels to leak beneath the retina, wet macular degeneration has occurred. This condition is marked by abnormal blood vessels growing beneath the retina that form under it and leak fluid onto photoreceptor cells causing photoreceptor cell damage and central vision loss. Prevention for wet macular degeneration includes taking medications that inhibit abnormal blood vessel growth like Avastin, Lucentis or Eylea injected every four weeks into each eye to counteract VEGF protein stimulation that promotes abnormal blood vessel growth – these anti VEGF medications should also inhibit abnormal blood vessel growth under retina.

Anti-angiogenic medication Aflibercept, first approved over a decade ago for wet macular degeneration treatment at 2 mg dose, has recently received fast track approval by the FDA. Patients will now only require to be dosed every two months as opposed to monthly injections – further decreasing burden on patients and eye practices alike. It may also be considered for treating other retinal diseases including diabetic retinopathy and retinal vein occlusion.

Diagnosis

If straight lines appear wavy or your central vision appears blurry, this could be early macular degeneration – a condition which can eventually lead to severe vision loss if left untreated; however, early diagnosis offers many treatments which can slow its progress and even improve vision quality.

Macular degeneration is a disease of the macula, an area at the center of your retina that helps you see. Your macula plays an essential role in central vision allowing you to read, drive a car, recognize faces and colors, as well as performing other daily tasks such as reading. Early signs of macular degeneration may include difficulty seeing distances clearly or distortion of straight lines and colors appearing wavy or dim; dark spots in your central vision; difficulty with seeing distances clearly or distortion. An Amsler Grid can help your eye doctor detect early signs with simple tests such as your ability to identify straight lines from both ends as well as details from both top and bottom sections as well as details that come up through your central vision allowing them to identify straight lines from both bottom and top sections as well as details like these details from both.

Macular degeneration occurs most frequently as dry macular degeneration; about 85 percent of people with macular degeneration fall under this category. Drusen deposits under the retina gradually build up over time and lead to gradual vision loss; in five percent of cases (known as wet macular degeneration), abnormal blood vessels form under the retina and leak fluid into the macula, leading to gradual vision loss.

Wet macular degeneration is the most serious form of this condition and is associated with an exponentially faster decline in vision than dry macular degeneration. Additionally, it’s one of the main contributors to severe visual loss among people over fifty.

Few medications can prevent wet macular degeneration by stopping abnormal new blood vessel growth (neovascularization). Each drug works differently; most block certain chemicals that drive this process.

Other medications to treat wet macular degeneration symptoms include antioxidants and dietary supplements. Speak to your eye doctor about each option’s pros and cons to find the most appropriate one for you. They’ll help find an ideal treatment regimen tailored specifically to you.

Treatment

Eylea (aflibercept) is administered as an intravitreal injection and approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat wet macular degeneration, also known as neovascular age-related macular degeneration. It works by blocking abnormal blood vessel growth beneath the retina that create scarring that results in loss of fine central vision. Studies have demonstrated its success at stabilizing or improving visual acuity for over 90% of wet AMD patients, while simultaneously decreasing risk of vision loss by 40%.

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor, or VEGF, is a protein produced in the body that promotes new blood vessel formation to support tissue and organ development. When linked with eye diseases such as wet age-related macular degeneration, however, VEGF can lead to abnormally leaky vessels with increased permeability which lead to swelling and scarring resulting in permanent vision loss due to destruction of central retinal area.

Current treatments for wet AMD include injections of anti-VEGF drugs like Avastin or Lucentis into the eye every four weeks or monthly to stop abnormal blood vessels that cause macular oedema and scarring from forming. These medications have revolutionized treatment of wet macular degeneration and prevented legal blindness in thousands of individuals who otherwise would have experienced legal blindness.

Aflibercept is a synthetic fusion protein composed of extracellular domains of VEGF receptors 1 and 2, fused to an Fc portion of human IgG1. It serves as a decoy receptor by binding with VEGF and inhibiting its activity, acting like a soluble decoy receptor and blocking its activity. As the drug does not cross the placenta or enter circulation systems directly, but due to excretion into breast milk female patients should consider taking contraception prior to initial dose, during treatment as well as three months post injection.

Side Effects

Macular degeneration affects the eye’s central region of vision known as the macular and is responsible for straight ahead vision, color accuracy and fine detail perception. Macular degeneration causes vision loss through blind spots or difficulty reading/driving/etc. There are various forms of macular degeneration; dry macular degeneration accounts for about 85% of cases while wet macular degeneration arises from abnormal blood vessel growth leaking fluids into retina which rapidly leads to severe loss.

Treatment of wet AMD involves eliminating abnormal blood vessels and preventing their return. Anti-VEGF agents have become the standard of care in treating macular degeneration as well as other eye disorders characterized by neovascularization.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Bayer HealthCare have joined forces in creating EYLEA (aflibercept) injection, commonly referred to as VEGF Trap-Eye. The drug competes with Lucentis for treating age-related macular degeneration with its neovascular form; which leads to visual loss among advanced cases of macular degeneration patients.

EYLEA is an intravitreal injection given in office that prevents abnormal new blood vessels from growing into the retina to help preserve vision in wet age-related macular degeneration patients. The recombinant fusion protein used is a form of Aflibercept that works by binding with and blocking its actions in order to do this effectively. EYLEA should be given as a monthly injection directly into each eye.

EYLEA stands out among anti-VEGF treatments by not having any serious side effects, such as increased risks of brain bleeding. Due to drug excretion through human milk and its potential harm to infants, women who plan or are breastfeeding should avoid taking EYLEA; also effective contraception should be used that includes both prescription and nonprescription estrogen-containing medicines while using EYLEA.