Anti-VEGF injections provide the most effective therapy for wet age-related macular degeneration. These anti-VEGF medications prevent leaky blood vessel formation, thus slowing further vision loss.

PDT utilizes verteporfin, an eye drug sensitive to light, combined with non-burning low energy laser technology, to destroy abnormal new blood vessels in the retina. This can assist patients who are following treat-and-extend regimens to achieve improved visual acuity outcomes.

Eylea

Eylea is an intravitreal injection used to treat wet macular degeneration, an eye condition in which abnormal blood vessels grow under the macula and leak fluid and other substances, leading to blurred vision and potentially leading to blindness among older adults. Eylea’s anti-VEGF treatment reduces new blood vessel formation while simultaneously stopping any fluid leakage, restoring retinal function normally again and quickly and painlessly treating wet macular degeneration; patients may notice a small bubble under their eyelid after injection but should refrain from touching their eyes until this site has healed completely before touching.

VEGF is a naturally-occurring protein that stimulates the formation of new blood vessels. Although part of our natural response to injuries and illness, in certain conditions VEGF can contribute to leaky or scarred macular areas in wet macular degeneration which results in abnormal blood vessel development that cause swelling, blurred vision, oedema and even blind spots in vision. Eylea therapy blocks this key pathway involved with creating these new vessels.

The results of both trials, known as VISTA-DME and VIVID-DME, indicated that Eylea was noninferior to ranibizumab (also known as Avastin) when it comes to improving DR severity, as well as superior to laser photocoagulation (which uses laser light beams to destroy newly formed blood vessels) when treating DME patients. Study participants in each of these two trials reported an average two line improvement compared with nontreatment.

Aflibercept, commonly referred to by its brand name Eylea, is a monoclonal antibody targeting VEGFR-2 protein. Unlike other anti-VEGF drugs, Aflibercept does not block either VEGF-A or VEGF-C production; rather it binds directly to eye VEGF receptors and inhibits their function, enabling other cells in the eyeball to absorb any already existing VEGFs that remain. An injection into vitreous humor — the clear gel-like substance located within eyeball center — using an ocular catheter allows delivery directly into retinal pigment epithelium cells for optimal treatment results.

Avastin

Avastin is an anti-VEGF injection used to help delay wet age-related macular degeneration. The drug works by blocking new abnormal blood vessels that leak and cause swelling in the retina; this treatment should only be given under medical supervision at your local eye care clinic. The procedure itself is typically quick and painless; your doctor will insert a small needle into your eye before administering some pain relieving eye drops to you prior to injecting Avastin into the white portion of your sclera (white part of eyeball). Avastin treatment usually lasts 15-20 seconds. Once complete, they’ll remove their drape before performing an eye exam to assess your vision.

Anti-VEGF injections and laser therapy are two approaches used to treat wet AMD, with anti-VEGF injections being the most effective means of decreasing vision loss from wet AMD. Studies have proven their efficacy; multiple studies have proven their ability to significantly increase vision improvement for people suffering from wet AMD. Unfortunately, however, anti-VEGF treatments can be very costly; one eye treatment could cost around $2,000+ alone and many patients cannot afford this therapy option.

In 2008, the National Institutes of Health initiated the CATT study in order to compare the efficacy of Lucentis and Avastin. Researchers recruited 1,185 patients at 43 clinical centers throughout the US; giving some with monthly injections of Lucentis or every 28 days an injection of Avastin; others followed “Treat and Extend,” where doctors can tailor injection frequency depending on disease activity; at one year mark both groups’ visual and anatomic outcomes were comparable between groups.

Avastin is an affordable alternative to Lucentis for patients suffering from wet AMD who want to slow its progress and restore their sight. Both drugs are manufactured by Genentech; Avastin costs less than Lucentis while producing similar results and is also eligible for Medicare beneficiaries with only 20% copayment payments.

Lucentis

Lucentis is an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injection used to treat neovascular age-related macular degeneration. This medication is effective at lowering vision loss risk while improving central detailed vision; timely treatments can allow patients to continue doing daily activities like reading, watching television or recognising faces as well as driving, walking or performing other tasks without issue.

VEGF is a protein produced by our bodies that promotes new blood vessel formation; however, these vessels may leak and cause retinal damage. Lucentis is an eye medication which inhibits VEGF from stimulating its formation and leakage; available as an oral prescription and administered via injection by doctors.

Before administering the Lucentis injection, your doctor will clean and numb the eye area to reduce any chance of infection. Next, you’ll be seated in a semi-reclined position; pain-relieving eye drops will be administered and an eye opening device may be placed to keep them open while injection occurs in 10-15 seconds without experiencing pain during this procedure. Following the injection, they’ll assess your eyesight before administering antibiotic eye drops for several days after which you can go home afterwards.

The CATT study, sponsored by the National Eye Institute (NEI), involved 1,185 wet AMD patients from 43 clinical centers throughout the US. Participants were randomly assigned one of four treatment groups for a year-long trial; some received monthly dosage while others had treatments every 28 days; those receiving monthly dosing experienced significantly improved vision than those treated on an as-needed basis.

The US Food and Drug Administration has granted ranibizumab, the active ingredient found in Lucentis, approval as a supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) submitted on August 7th for use in diabetic retinopathy treatment. Priority Review status is reserved by FDA for medicines which show potential to provide significant improvements in terms of safety and efficacy over existing treatments for medical conditions.

BEOVU

Beovu is an intravitreal injection approved by the FDA in October 2019 for treating wet age-related macular degeneration, a degeneration of the macula which leads to central vision loss. It offers longer duration of action than previous therapies while needing less frequent dosing than other medicines to treat wet macular degeneration. Most patients have seen stabilization and improvement of vision from using Beovu; however a small percentage may experience inflammation which could result in further loss.

Eye doctors provide Beovu as an in-office procedure. The procedure entails injecting it directly into the vitreous cavity of the eye and usually does not cause pain for most patients. After each injection is typically followed by an examination of retina by an eye doctor to look for fluid accumulation under retina which indicates macular degeneration.

Beovu stands out from other treatments for wet macular degeneration as it acts by attaching itself to an unwanted protein in the eye called vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A). By binding to this protein, Beovu blocks blood vessel growth and fluid leakage from abnormal vessels resulting from wet macular degeneration. Clinical trials such as KESTREL and KITE demonstrated its efficacy by significantly reducing macular degeneration-related vision loss as well as improving best corrected visual acuity changes when compared to another drug called Aflibercept.

Beovu has been linked with retinal vasculitis, a rare but serious side effect which could result in blindness if untreated immediately after an injection. Symptoms typically manifest themselves 3-5 days post injection. These symptoms of eye problems include severe headaches, redness around the eye that worsens rather than improves, and extreme light sensitivity. If these are occurring to you, contact an eye doctor immediately or go to an ER with eye doctors available on-call. Be careful to avoid touching or rubbing your eyes after an injection as this increases the risk of inflammation. Furthermore, Beovu should not be used if you are hypersensitive to any of its active ingredients or excipients, have an infection in or around the eye, or are experiencing intraocular surgery.