Treatment for AMD typically entails slowing its progression and improving vision. There are various options available.

AMD damages the retina, which is an extremely thin tissue located at the back of your eye, causing central vision loss while not impacting peripheral vision.

Treatment for dry macular degeneration

Age related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of legal blindness in the United States, occurs when central portion of retina called macula degenerates and causes central vision loss that is most useful for activities like reading and driving to diminish over time. While AMD usually progresses slowly without ever leading to complete blindness, it is still essential that people with dry AMD visit regular eye exams in order to detect it early and manage it effectively.

The dry form of AMD is characterized by the formation of deposits known as drusen under the retina. While these deposits themselves aren’t harmful, over time they can grow and damage the macula and cause blurry vision resulting in decreased central vision over time. People diagnosed with dry macular degeneration typically lose it gradually over years.

An estimated 7.5 million Americans currently suffer from some form of macular degeneration and that figure continues to increase. Although not reversible, treatment can at least slow its progress and in some instances restore some lost vision.

No one knows exactly why AMD occurs; however, scientists believe it increases a person’s risk if they have large drusen or abnormal blood vessels underneath the retina. Left untreated, wet AMD can quickly erode central vision.

Macular degeneration (MD), also known as macular thinning, can be detected early with an eye exam by looking for blurry vision that worsens over time. If this describes your symptoms, visit an ophthalmologist for a dilated eye exam to ascertain its stage and possibly recommend high doses of antioxidant vitamins and zinc to slow its progress.

If the disease has progressed into wet macular degeneration, your ophthalmologist will be able to offer treatments using medications and laser surgery. Newly prescribed drugs are injected directly into the eye to decrease new blood vessel development underneath the retina as well as slow any leakage from existing vessels. Your physician may also utilize laser surgery by targeting beams of light onto any abnormal vessels to destroy them permanently.

Treatment for neovascular macular degeneration (wet AMD)

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the United States. It occurs when the central portion of retina (called macula) becomes thin or loses pigment, leading to blurry or distorted vision, central dark spot formation and loss of straight lines. While vision usually worsens gradually over time with dry AMD, severe vision loss may occur over time and progress more quickly with wet AMD, caused by blood vessel growth in the eye; though wet AMD is less prevalent and generally considered more serious due to faster loss of vision loss and vision loss due to blood vessel formation within. Wet AMD may lead to more rapid vision loss due to blood vessel formation within eye; wet AMD causes rapid eye blood vessel growth that results in rapid eye loss rather than gradual vision loss over time compared to dry AMD due to blood vessel formation within eye which often remains normal over time; wet AMD tends not progresses as quickly but can progress more rapidly due to blood vessel growth within eye resulting from within eye causing rapid loss of vision; often remaining normal until after several years as its symptoms. Wet AMD less frequent, but more severe as its symptoms; its progression faster as severe vision loss than dry AMD due to faster eye loss caused by blood vessel formation within eye (wet AMD less common than dry AMD but more serious as its rapid loss caused by formation within eye due resulting from within eye). Wet AMD less common and can worsens more rapidly leading to quicker loss affecting vision loss more rapidly leading to faster vision loss as quickly.

Antiangiogenic medications have been developed to inhibit the formation of abnormal blood vessels associated with wet AMD. They are administered via an intravitreal injection, including Avastin (bevacizumab), Lucentis (ranibizumab), and Eylea (aflibercept). While injectable drug therapies are effective at stabilizing vision or improving it in many patients with wet AMD, their use requires frequent follow-up appointments to monitor changes to retinal tissue and treat changes accordingly – creating additional burden on patients and their families alike.

Genentech recently won FDA approval for Susvimo, a refillable ocular implant which continuously releases ranibizumab anti-VEGF medication as a potential alternative to injections in wet AMD. Susvimo’s approval was based on data from two randomized controlled trials: EMERGE and BRAVO studies – each conducted using either Susvimo or an inactive control in each visit and conducted by ophthalmologists who were blind to treatment assignment, conducting established tests of visual acuity conducted by ophthalmologists conducting established tests of visual acuity conducted by blind ophthalmologists during each visit, having their eyes examined, photographed, examined through microscopes while photographs taken from each visit were reviewed using standard methodologies ophthalmologists also reviewed images uploaded onto computer screens and analyzed them using standard methodologies ophthalmologists reviewed images on computer screens using standard methodologies for analysis by trained analysts who conducted assessments.

Clearside Biomedical, a company developing long-acting therapies, recently announced that sozinibercept (4DMT), its candidate drug in Phase III PRISM trial for wet AMD, has reached Dose Expansion stage. This multicenter, randomized double blind study is designed to evaluate safety and efficacy at two dose levels of 4DMT treatment among those suffering from geographic atrophy (GA) or wet AMD.

Treatment for advanced neovascular macular degeneration

Macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the primary causes of blindness in both Europe and North America, manifested as a degradation to the central retinal area, or macula, making fine details difficult or impossible to see clearly. Macular degeneration typically progresses gradually as vision gradually thins with time as macula thins further; in some instances however it may progress more rapidly, leading to sudden vision loss – estimated that 10-15% of people with dry AMD progress into advanced forms known as wet macular degeneration (neovascular macular degeneration).

Wet macular degeneration occurs when abnormal blood vessels grow and leak fluid beneath the retina, damaging light-sensitive retinal cells and leading to permanent loss of central vision. The condition may have begun as an attempt by your body to heal damaged retinal cells by growing new blood vessels; however, oftentimes these new vessels prove harmful instead.

Food and Drug Administration-approved drug treatments exist for wet macular degeneration that help stop abnormal blood vessel growth, minimize vision loss and potentially restore sight. These injections must be given on an ongoing basis. Other therapies including photodynamic therapy laser treatment as well as antioxidant vitamin supplements are currently under study in clinical trials.

Researchers are exploring new medications that could slow or reverse vision loss for those suffering from wet macular degeneration. These anti-angiogenic drugs, administered through injection into the eye, work by inhibiting proteins that promote neovascularization – hence their name anti-angiogenic medications. Macugen was approved by the FDA in December 2004, acting by binding to proteins responsible for abnormal blood vessel formation to limit fluid leakage while inhibiting further neovascularization and fluid leakage. Similar medications, Avastin and Lucentis are being developed alongside.

Studies published in January 2007 of Graefe’s Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology showed that eyes treated with intravitreal anti-VEGF injections showed less macular atrophy progression than fellow untreated wet AMD eyes, potentially reflecting that presence or absence of neovascularization affects rate of atrophy progression. This finding is of note given rapid progression seen with untreated wet AMD cases due to untreated neovascularization.

Treatment for diabetic retinopathy

Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is damage caused to the retina due to diabetes that if untreated can result in blindness. It affects up to 80% of people with diabetes for 10 years or longer and occurs most commonly among those in their 40s.

Disease occurs when small blood vessels in the retina start leaking blood and fluid, leading to swelling of the macula and blurring vision. Furthermore, fluid may seep into your vitreous humour (clear jelly that fills most of your eye) which could result in sudden worsening of floaters (small spots with red tint) appearing across your field of vision or cause large areas of bleeding on its surface that cause severe vision loss.

Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) can be divided into two stages, non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy(PDR). NPDR is the initial and less severe stage, in which abnormal new blood vessels form within the retina but they become fragile with time, leading to leakage of fluid or haemorrhage that eventually causes vision loss; including complete blindness.

Treatment for NPDR generally entails injections of immunomodulators into the eye to decrease swelling in the macula and laser treatment to shrink new blood vessels causing macular edema. Laser treatment works by inserting a special machine that creates small burns on retina to stop leakage of fluid into macular region of eyeball.

Laser treatment may help alleviate your symptoms and slow changes to your vision, although it will not improve it. If the condition becomes severe (vitreous haemorrhage), surgery may be required to extract vitreous humour from within the eyeball itself and restore vision.

Research continues to find ways of stopping or slowing the progression of DR. A recent publication from Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science showed that using two drugs at once proved more effective at decreasing retinal cell death in animals than using either individually. These included Irbesartin (used to treat high blood pressure) and the anti-diarrhoea compound Thiorphan.