No treatment can repair damage from advanced AMD, but treatments may help stop further loss of vision. Supplementing with antioxidant vitamins and minerals could prevent its progression to advanced stages.

If you experience changes to your central vision or experience blind spots that restrict or narrow the field of view, consult your doctor regarding treatment options.

Anti-angiogenic Drugs

Angiogenesis inhibitors are increasingly being used as an approach to treating cancer, eye diseases and inflammatory conditions.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a natural process that destroys central vision. Central vision allows one to see fine details clearly when driving or reading, such as on road signs. AMD often begins with blurred vision before eventually leading to dark spots appearing at the center of one’s visual field. Macular degeneration affects its target organ: the macula in the retina which converts images into nerve impulses which travel upstream toward the brain – its loss leads to central vision being lost within days or weeks without treatment being provided by macular degeneration caused by degradation or destruction of cells within this light-sensitive tissue causing central vision to vanish before fully being rendered unable to do its work.

In wet AMD, abnormal blood vessels grow under the retina and leak blood and fluid into the eye, raising and damaging the macula and increasing risk. This form is more dangerous than dry AMD as it develops rapidly causing significant vision loss affecting one or both eyes simultaneously.

Anti-VEGF drugs and laser surgery are two effective solutions for wet AMD. Anti-VEGF medication reduces abnormal blood vessels by blocking leakage through very fine needles placed into the eye; laser surgery shines a beam of light onto retina, decreasing fluid accumulation and slowing vision loss.

Clinical study results of Lucentis (ranibizumab) injections showed significant improvements over previous results for wet AMD, suggesting angiogenesis inhibitors are capable of helping those living with wet AMD retain or improve their vision over time. Furthermore, FDA has approved an intermittent version of Lucentis injections once every two months rather than monthly; similar injected drug EYLEA (aflibercept) can also treat wet AMD as well as diabetic macular edema.

MACUGEN

Macugen (pegaptanib sodium injection), recently approved by the FDA for treating wet form age related macular degeneration, represents an extremely important advance in its treatment as it slows vision loss while improving or stabilizing it in many patients. This medication works by blocking abnormal blood vessels that leak fluid under retina and damage central vision.

This drug binds to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a protein involved in the formation of abnormal blood vessels seen in wet AMD. Clinical trials conducted using this drug showed significant improvements or stabilizations after one year of treatment; injections are administered every six weeks until symptoms improve or stabilized.

At Casey Eye Institute locations including OHSU, approximately 75% of participants who received treatment with Macugen met their goal of vision loss being limited to no more than three lines on an eye chart – similar results to an earlier trial conducted using Eyetech and Pfizer-developed drug Avastin.

Researchers have recently established that VEGF plays an integral part in both early to late dry macular degeneration progression as well as wet macular degeneration development, prompting researchers to devise drugs which inhibit VEGF or proteins that cause new blood vessel growth to treat it.

Notably, the benefits of these medications are limited and will primarily benefit patients with the wet form of the disease, which leads to faster vision loss and blindness than its dry counterpart. While this condition cannot be reversed completely, maintaining a healthy diet, not smoking and wearing sunglasses may help slow its progress and slow vision loss down as much as possible.

In some instances, drug treatment can produce potentially life-threatening side effects including infection of the interior of the eye (endophthalmitis) and retinal detachment. Therefore, following proper aseptic techniques (using sterile gloves, drape and eyelid speculum), and closely monitoring patients following injection is of great importance.

LASER

An exciting new treatment option is helping those suffering early wet age-related macular degeneration: photodynamic therapy combines light-sensitive drugs and lasers to destroy abnormal blood vessels that leak fluid into the eye, leading to permanent vision loss. This combination may slow or reverse vision loss as a result. In many cases it even improves it!

The retina is a delicate paper-thin tissue located at the back of each eye that transmits visual signals to our brains. At its center is known as the macula, providing us with clarity when viewing fine details. When wet AMD occurs, however, its central macula becomes damaged and eventually ceases working, leading to blurry central vision with possible distortion or blind spots forming around its central position. Unfortunately, diagnosing wet AMD may require seeing your doctor for an examination – although even then it is often hard to accurately diagnose this disease on its own.

Dry AMD typically does not involve leaky blood vessels or scarring and tends to progress slowly over time, though in rare instances macula tissue will thin quickly, leading to sudden loss of vision. Wet AMD typically presents with straight lines appearing crooked due to fluid seeping out from abnormal blood vessels into lifting macula tissues that distort vision, prompting visual distortion.

To detect wet AMD, an eye care professional may put drops in your eyes to dilate or enlarge your pupils and examine the back of the eye with a special camera that can show blood vessels in your retina. He or she may also order fluorescein angiography – this test involves injecting a yellow dye through a vein in your arm into retinal blood vessels while taking pictures as the dye moves through them with a camera attached.

There is no cure for wet AMD; however, treatments can help delay further vision loss and in some cases restore it. Regular visits with your eye care professional, particularly if there is an existing family history of AMD can help your doctor detect changes to your vision and recommend appropriate therapies for you.

PHOTODYNAMIC THERAPY

Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) is a treatment method using light and medicine to address eye and body cancer. A light-sensitive drug is placed into a patient’s eye, activated by specific laser lights and destroys nearby cells – usually performed in-office by physicians.

This therapy treats wet macular degeneration (WMD). WMD occurs when abnormal blood vessels grow and leak into the macula, damaging retinal tissues and leading to permanent vision loss. By sealing off leaky vessels with this therapy, some patients may be able to halt further vision loss and achieve long-term preservation of vision.

PDT is a noninvasive therapy that can be combined with injections or laser surgery for improved results. Although very safe, PDT may cause temporary side effects in the form of reddening of skin in the treated area or temporary sunburn that should subside within days.

Before your procedure begins, a healthcare provider will administer anesthetic eye drops to numb your eyes. After that, a doctor will insert a contact lens into each of your eyes in order to focus a laser light beam directly on the area beneath your retina using a tool known as a slit lamp and focus it on areas with abnormal blood vessels – this tool focuses on these vessels to treat them successfully. Once in position, light sensitivity medicine in your eye activates so it travels directly towards them, which eventually closes off abnormal blood vessels causing them to close down permanently.

Healthcare providers use laser therapy to destroy any abnormal blood vessels that leak, though this may take multiple treatments before reaching desired results. While these treatments may slow the progression of wet AMD, they cannot restore vision lost from advanced AMD. It is essential that regular eye exams are scheduled with your ophthalmologist as well as following his or her advice for healthy diet, exercise, and quitting smoking to maximize results.