Your eye health professional can conduct tests to measure your vision and prescribe glasses, or they may use additional techniques such as dilated retinal photography, optical coherence tomography (OCT) and fluorescein angiography in cases of suspected wet AMD.

Wet AMD causes rapid decline of central vision as abnormal blood vessels leak fluid and produce distortion and loss of straight lines. Anti-leak medications such as bevacizumab, aflibercept and brolucizumab injections may help prevent abnormal vessels from leaking fluid.

Treatment for Wet AMD

Wet AMD occurs when abnormal blood vessels form and bleed under the retina, damaging macula cells and leading to vision loss. If left untreated, this disease can quickly progress until treated with eye injections of medicines that block vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), thus preventing new vessels from sprouting and bleeding.

Doctors administer an eye drop solution called sub-retinal space. You may require multiple treatments over three years and costs about $2,500 including medication, doctor’s fee and imaging; Medicare covers certain instances.

Eye injections should be repeated monthly at regular visits to your doctor, and photodynamic therapy (which uses light-sensitive drugs and laser treatment) may also be recommended by them. Eye injections have proven successful for about 90% of people living with wet AMD, reducing risks of severe vision loss while increasing chances of positive results and slowing progression.

A new study examined an oral medication called X-82 that may provide an alternative to intravitreal injections for AMD patients. Its dual activity includes blocking both VEGF and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). If it proves safe and effective in larger studies, fewer injections could become necessary for many individuals. X-82 proved efficacious during trials of wet AMD patients; its oral medicine reduced fluid leakage while inhibiting new blood vessel formation – similar mechanisms as Lucentis, Avastin and Eylea currently used intravitreally; its company initiated an ascending dose clinical trial for it in order to evaluate it further.

Anti-VEGF Injections

VEGF is a molecule that triggers new blood vessels to form beneath the retina, leading to leakage of fluid and blood into the eye (oedema) and eventually leading to exudative (or “wet”) age-related macular degeneration. Recent research suggests that blocking VEGF can help slow or delay vision loss from macular degeneration; most available therapies use repeated and monthly intravitreal injections of anti-VEGF drugs which sequester and neutralize it at its source within the eye itself.

Eylea (aflibercept) and Lucentis (ranibizumab), approved by NHS, are currently used to treat wet AMD. Both medications must be injected intraocularly at regular intervals – typically every 4-8 weeks in most patients’ cases – though research into other potential treatments that require less frequent injections is currently ongoing.

These medications may cause serious side effects. These risks include infection, inflammation of the eye, increased pressure in the eye (intraocular pressure), macular oedema (accumulation of fluid behind retina), retinal tear or detachment and stroke – although such risks are very rare and should only occur under exceptional circumstances. Should they occur immediately please notify your healthcare provider.

Recent large studies demonstrated that long-term treatment with anti-VEGF therapy successfully reduced progression of non-vascular AMD. Unfortunately, however, VEGF inhibitors did not prevent geographic atrophy development and could even speed it up – meaning people diagnosed with wet AMD must see their eye doctor regularly and discuss possible treatments with them.

Photodynamic Therapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT), a relatively novel treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration, involves injecting or applying topically photosensitizing medication before receiving light treatments at specific wavelengths. When exposed to appropriate light wavelengths, these molecules react and release oxygen molecules which destroy cells – this process generally targets abnormal blood vessels while sparsely impacting healthy surrounding tissue.

Wet AMD occurs when abnormal blood vessels form under the retina in the macula, leading to fluid accumulation and scarring in its early stages. Over time, vision loss progresses until patients lose central vision altogether or experience difficulty driving or performing daily activities. While PDT cannot restore vision that has already been lost, early diagnosis allows PDT treatment to preserve remaining eyesight.

Anti-VEGF drugs, or “anti-VEGFs”, have proven highly effective treatments for wet AMD. These anti-VEGF medicines, known as “anti-VEGF drugs”, are administered directly into the eye through a small needle and significantly improve visual outcomes for most patients; currently available medications include Avastin, Lucentis and Eylea.

Jefferson Health stands out among the competition as one of the few centers offering photodynamic therapy as a solution for cancerous and precancerous growths on the skin, such as actinic keratosis (precancerous sun spots). Photodynamic therapy may also relieve symptoms associated with some precancerous lesions like rosacea. Following photodynamic therapy procedures, patients must remain out of direct sunlight and bright lights for 48 hours post procedure and wear wide-brimmed hats and sunglasses while outside. Furthermore, treated areas may become sensitive to light, appearing red or swollen until fully recovered from light exposure and light sensitivity gradually subsiding.

Implantable Ranibizumab

Genentech’s anti-VEGF drug ranibizumab, approved by the FDA for wet AMD in 2006, revolutionized treatment of retinal neovascular disease. It dramatically reduced blindness due to neovascular macular degeneration by sealing off leaky blood vessels that form within the eye and thus preserved vision. Unfortunately, monthly injections are not practical for many patients as they must travel long distances or visit multiple times each month or deal with self-administration – especially when dose increases must be increased further for optimal vision outcomes.

Velodrome aims to find ways to extend the time patients go between appointments or improve vision outcomes through continuous treatment, and has made great strides toward this end with its new implantable device, designed to continuously release anti-VEGF medication ranibizumab for six months – something this study will evaluate the implant’s effectiveness and safety with patients suffering from wet neovascular AMD who have responded well to two monthly intravitreal injections of anti-VEGF medication.

Roche Genentech recently unveiled Ladder clinical trial results showing that long-term ranibizumab Port Delivery System (PDS), which is implanted during one procedure, provides safe and effective anti-VEGF therapy lasting six months for wet AMD patients. They reported that patient receiving high dose PDS injections equivalent to monthly ranibizumab injections experienced visual and anatomic outcomes comparable to lower-dose groups treated with Aflibercept every other month.

Surgery

There is currently no cure for wet AMD; instead, those suffering can manage their symptoms with regular injections and photodynamic therapy treatments, while using home monitoring tools like an Amsler grid as an early warning sign if their lines start looking distorted or broken. It is vital that they reach out immediately for medical help should any distorted lines appear;

In some cases of wet AMD, doctors will suggest laser photocoagulation surgery as a solution. A laser is used to burn away any abnormal blood vessels growing within the macula to stop them leaking fluid or blood into the retina and leading to permanent vision loss. However, this procedure only works if their growth does not interfere with central macula tissue; alternatively photodynamic therapy (PDT) could provide more precise targeting without harming surrounding tissues.

Priyatham Mettu, a retina specialist from Duke University who studies new treatments and imaging technologies for age-related macular degeneration, recently participated in a BrightFocus chat to answer questions regarding wet AMD treatment developments. One of the most frequently asked about is injections; Priyatham explained how these injections work by inhibiting activity of vascular endothelial growth factor that promotes abnormal blood vessel growth within the eye, thereby improving vision over time; regular injections may improve a person’s vision temporarily; hopefully researchers will soon develop drugs with long lasting effects compared to mere monthly shots!